Chapter 7: Xie Yiping

Page 1/3

Cen Wu noticed that the aura surrounding Xie Guilan was no longer as cold and gloomy, but for some reason, his face looked a bit dark.

“…”

Cen Wu blinked and dared not provoke Xie Guilan any further. He quickly shrank his neck and turned back.

After two lessons, the rain grew heavier and heavier. He and Lu Wang sat in a row by the window, and raindrops were being blown inside.

Lu Wang leaned his head closer, feeling the cool breeze on his face, which he found quite pleasant.

But Xie Guilan was less comfortable. The corner of his test paper got wet, and since closing the window would surely disturb Cen Wu, he kept a cold expression and didn’t get up.

When Cen Wu met his cold gaze, he suddenly stood up and, under Lu Wang’s pleading look, pushed the window tightly closed.

The summer school uniform was thin and translucent, and the wind lifted it up. From behind, the boy’s slim waist was clear, and the hem of his shirt was pulled up by the motion of closing the window, flashing a bright patch of cold white.

Xie Guilan only glanced for a second before looking away.

It wasn’t an illusion. He realized Cen Wu was afraid of him, even trying to please him. But… why?

—

At noon, the rain poured harder, and the bicycle tires were half submerged. It was inconvenient to go home, so most students stayed to eat in the cafeteria.

Only Xie Guilan left as soon as the bell rang; Cen Wu didn’t have time to call after him.

“What are you staring at?” Lu Wang waved his hand in front of Cen Wu’s eyes, then hooked his arm around his and said, “Let’s go to the cafeteria too.”

Just thinking about the crowded cafeteria made Cen Wu’s legs tremble. Teenagers from both boys’ and girls’ high schools were so hungry their eyes gleamed, rushing downstairs in a wild stampede.

How could he confront those people head-on? While others might get hurt, he could lose his life.

But Lu Wang dragged him along like the outgoing friend of someone with social anxiety. Cen Wu didn’t know how his legs moved but was forced and pulled into the cafeteria.

Seeing that he said nothing, Lu Wang thought he had never been to the cafeteria and didn’t know what to eat. After lining up at the window, he raised his hand and shouted, “We want chestnut braised chicken!”

The cafeteria at Huai Jing No. 1 High School was quite good, and the uncle at the window had steady hands, serving Cen Wu a full bowl of chestnut and chicken stew that was fragrant and tender.

Cen Wu’s eyes were always misty; under the gloomy sky and heavy rain, they shone brightly. He and Lu Wang were lucky to find a spacious seat.

“Delicious, right?” Lu Wang said proudly. “You never come eat with me at the cafeteria, but the windows on the second floor all have great food. Next time, I’ll take you to window nine for crossing-the-bridge rice noodles.”

Cen Wu nodded, “Okay.”

Lu Wang wasn’t completely foolish; he sensed that Cen Wu had once looked down on him and disliked him, but today that had vanished. Cen Wu was even willing to eat in the cafeteria with him.

How could the young master of the Cen family stoop to this place, when the original owner thought the cafeteria was dirty and smelly?

But now, Cen Wu sat across from him. Outside, the rain poured heavily, and the cafeteria’s light was dim. Cen Wu’s black hair hung by his cheeks, making his calm, pale complexion stand out.

Lu Wang thought: I want to spend money on my brother again; I adore him.

Why wouldn’t he?

—

After finishing lunch with Lu Wang, Cen Wu returned to the classroom and slept on the desk for more than an hour at noon.

Page 2/3

In the afternoon, Xie Guilan still arrived just in time. Cen Wu saw he had changed into a different school uniform and guessed he must have worked during lunch. Xie Guilan worked at a small restaurant near the school, helping to serve dishes, which inevitably left a faint smoky smell.

Huai Jing No. 1 High School provided several sets of uniforms. Xie Guilan always changed into a fresh set in the afternoon.

Even so, it didn’t stop people from picking on him. But after Cen Wu suddenly lost his temper that morning and confronted Zhou Ye, no one troubled Xie Guilan for a while.

Cen Wu had attended classes all day, understanding only half of it, memorizing a few formulas and cell diagrams.

The second year of high school had just started, so there were no evening self-study sessions yet. School ended at 7:30 p.m., and the last period was biology with the homeroom teacher.

Xie Shangjing detested Xie Guilan and didn’t want anyone at school to know they were brothers. Even when visiting Class Three for the original owner, he refused to communicate with Xie Guilan.

So, Cen Wu felt relatively safe at school, but after school was another matter. He planned to threaten Xie Guilan into staying overnight at the Cen family home until his injuries healed.

The rain that evening was even heavier than when Yiping went to borrow money from the Lu family. Near the end of class, Cen Wu suddenly noticed that the sharp but beautiful boy behind him was gone.

!!!

Cen Wu hurriedly shook Lu Wang. “Xie… Xie Guilan?”

“Hm?” Lu Wang looked up. “He left, just now.”

He pointed outside the classroom. Xie Guilan was already at the stairwell, carrying a black backpack in one hand and striding away.

Cen Wu suddenly remembered that Xie Guilan also worked at a bar in the evening. The money he earned at noon paid for his meals, but he still needed to save up to hire a nurse for Song Lingwei.

The school gate was crowded after class, so Xie Guilan always left a few minutes early to catch the bus.

Cen Wu: “…”

There were still five minutes left before class ended. Leaving now meant skipping class. The last period only lasted twenty minutes before the teacher assigned a quiz and graded homework at the podium, occasionally glancing around.

Cen Wu’s nose started sweating with anxiety. As a socially anxious person, he just wanted to blend in, not be noticed. Skipping class in front of everyone was like asking for death.

His mind went blank and buzzed. If he didn’t leave now, he wouldn’t catch up to Xie Guilan.

Trembling, he began packing his bag. When the homeroom teacher looked down momentarily, he grabbed his bag and risked sneaking out the back door.

But the teacher’s gaze was sharp and caught him, shouting behind him, “Cen Wu!”

Cen Wu nearly dropped his bag in fright, heart pounding and legs weak, but he resolutely ran downstairs.

Yet by the time he reached the school gate, his pants were splashed wet, and Xie Guilan had already boarded the bus.

“Wa… wait!” He mustered courage to call out. The driver didn’t hear him in the heavy rain and drove off.

Nearby, some first-year students who had finished school noticed Cen Wu’s anxious demeanor and whispered under their umbrellas, “He’s chasing a girlfriend, right?”

“Ah, still hasn’t caught up.”

Cen Wu: “…………”

He was furious.

His face numb, he wiped the rain from his face and hailed a taxi.

Page 3/3

“Dri… driver, to Blue Night.”

Thankfully, he had memorized the full name of the bar where Xie Guilan worked.

The bar wasn’t far from school. Even with rain and traffic, it took just over twenty minutes. Cen Wu suddenly realized he was standing outside the bar in his school uniform, completely out of place.

He hurried into a nearby store to buy a T-shirt and jeans, then a black baseball cap. Under the brim, he wore a black mask. Dressed all in black, he blended perfectly into the night.

But standing at the bar’s entrance, after twenty minutes of psyching himself up, his legs started shaking and he still couldn’t bring himself to enter. So many people pressed tightly together—it felt suffocating just thinking about it.

“One more minute, then I’ll go in. No, three more minutes. I must go in.”

Ten minutes later, Cen Wu stood by a Roman column outside the bar.

“…”

Back to where he started.

Flustered, he clutched his baseball cap and paced outside the bar, summoning courage and raising his foot—when someone exited the bar right in front of him. He immediately shrank back, stiffened, and changed direction, pretending he was just passing by.

After countless repetitions, suddenly a pair of hands landed on Cen Wu’s shoulders. He nearly had a heart spasm, turned around, and saw a familiar, arrogant redhead.

“Second Young Master,” Chu Zijian hooked his shoulder and asked with curiosity, “Why aren’t you going in?”

About ten minutes ago, he had driven over and saw Cen Wu pacing here. He wanted to call out but feared Cen Wu might get angry and slap him.

Still, he couldn’t hold back and came over.

Cen Wu was so startled he hadn’t recovered. His lips pressed red, he stammered, “I-I-I… have rheumatism.”

Chu Zijian: ?

“I can’t stand damp places,” Cen Wu said.

Though he had been to film festivals and walked red carpets before he became so socially anxious, he couldn’t handle it then either. Once a male star dyed his hair blue, styled it high with gel, nearly two meters tall, wearing a vacuum suit buttoned only at the bottom, dark blue glittery eyeshadow, and black lipstick.

The actor was the last to go on stage; Cen Wu was first in the director’s group. He stood next to the actor the whole time; when the actor smiled wickedly, Cen Wu’s toes dug into the floor like a film palace.

Chu Zijian scratched his head confused, hesitating, “Second Young Master, are you here to party at the bar?”

Cen Wu instantly became sensitive. He was socially anxious but didn’t want others to know.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” He clenched his mask, lifted his head, and snapped, “Do I not look like I came to the bar to have fun?”

Seeing him angry, Chu Zijian quickly soothed him, “You look like it, definitely do. How could you not?”

Like he came to steal something.