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nEditor: yummers

nThe next morning, Shi Qing drowsily leaned on Zhuo Junli and yawned. He entered the classroom just as the bell rang.

nFortunately, it was morning self study currently, meaning that only the on-duty student was present. He didn’t say anything about Shi Qing’s tardiness.

nOf course, even if he did, Shi Qing definitely wouldn’t listen.

nA school bully who liked to study was still a school bully after all.

nHe was led all the way to his seat by Zhuo Junli, barely opening his eyes throughout.

nWhen he sat down, the youth warmly coaxed his companion who was leaning on his shoulder, “Shi Qing, wake up. It’s time for self-study.”

n“I’m sleepy…”

nIn fact, Shi Qing had pretty much woken up on the way to the study hall, but he still wanted to lean on Zhuo Junli’s shoulder and listen to the top student’s gentle coaxing.

nAs expected, Zhuo Junli softly urged him. “Open your eyes first. You didn’t have breakfast so I brought you some buns.”

nShi Qing was almost inseparable from his bed in the morning. It took Zhuo Junli quite some time to convince him to get up and put on his clothes. By the time he was dressed, it was already too late to eat in the cafeteria.

nHe could only quickly run downstairs while Shi Qing was getting ready in the bathroom and buy some buns. Then, he had to drag Shi Qing to the classroom after he crawled onto the bed after getting dressed.

n“I don’t want to eat buns. I want to eat strawberries.”

nZhuo Junli, “I’ll buy you some after morning self study. Eat the buns to tide you over until then.”

nThe satisfied school bully opened his mouth as he received a satisfactory answer.

nThe youth naturally brought the bun to his mouth and watched Shi Qing eat it one bite at a time with his eyes closed.

nTong Xinyu was silent as she witnessed this scene from the back.

nShe poked her deskmate and pointed to the two who were feeding each other in front of her. She whispered, “Look.”

nHer deskmate friend was busy rushing through the homework. She looked up at the direction Tong Xinyu was pointing in, full of bewilderment. “What’s wrong?”

nTong Xinyu said, “Can’t you see that Zhuo Junli’s feeding Shi Qing a bun!”

n“Yeah, I see that.”

nHer friend looked confused. “So what? Didn’t our teacher say that we can have breakfast in the classroom if we were tight on time?”

nTong Xinyu, “……”

nHaving breakfast wasn’t the important part!

nIt’s Zhuo Junli !!! feeding Shi Qing breakfast!

nSeeing that Tong Xinyu seemed to be quite anxious, her deskmate took another puzzled look.

nThen, she took a second look.

nAnd one more for good measure.

nThen, it dawned on her.

n“I get it. You’re upset for Zhuo Junli, right? It’s nothing really. I don’t think he’s unhappy, ah. He and Shi Qing have been getting closer lately, so this is probably just a favor between friends.”

nTong Xinyu, “……”

nSeeing her blank expression, her deskmate kindly gave her a hug.

n“It’s okay. Didn’t you say before that you like Shi Qing too? You can look at it from Shi Qing’s point of view. See how comfortable it is for him to have someone to feed him when he’s tired?”

nTong Xinyu, “……”

nUndeterred, she craned her head to look around the class.

nTragically, she found out that she was the only one in the entire classroom who felt that something wasn’t right.

nIt could also be because the other students were already desensitized due to long-term exposure to Shi Qing’s brash and unfettered personality.

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nWu…

nTong Xinyu laid down on her desk in anguish.

nShe had to swallow a bitter dose of reality.

nTwo of her male gods had been forced to step down.

nThe third male god was already online.

nBut the reason for their retirement was very much out of the ordinary.

nTong Xinyu was actually a very open-minded girl. Even if her male gods left, she could still remain calm.

nSince childhood, she could count nearly ten male gods that were near her age alone, excluding singers and actors.

nEvery time a male god stepped down for various reasons (often because she found a new one), Tong Xinyu was perfectly capable of shifting her attention away.

nBut Shi Qing and Zhuo Junli had become an exception.

nIt could be because they were in the same class, or it could be because…

nThese two were too conspicuous.

nTong Xinyu witnessed Zhuo Junli going to buy strawberries after class and washing them clean just for Shi Qing.

nShe also watched as Shi Qing looked around for various practice tests to give as a gift to Zhuo Junli.

nThe two were deskmates and also lived in the same dormitory. Even if they were overly close everyday, no one had sensed anything odd about them.

nAs the days became shorter and colder, the school bully seemed to go into hibernation. His entire body slowed down as he leaned on Zhuo Junli no matter what he was doing.

nHe casually hung off the top student like a sloth with his hand around the youth’s shoulder.

nHe half-leaned on him while sitting. He leaned like he had no bones. He walked, yawned, and lazily glanced around all the time.

nBefore, Tong Xinyu had only watched them because they were her male gods. Shi Qing wasn’t nearly as tired then.

nIf you do the math, he only started getting sleepy everyday after the day she witnessed them exchanging red strings.

nTong Xinyu—who had admittedly inquired about homosexual romance while she was home on vacation—had to wonder what her two ex-male gods did the nights after they eloped.

nThey were in the same dorm!

nAnd it was a two person room to boot!

nTong Xinyu thought, “OMG! Is it really what I think it is?”, before feeling weird. “Wait a minute. Why am I so excited about what they might be doing?”

nShe felt like she shouldn’t be so concerned about the lives of other people.

nAfter all, ever since she saw her two main male gods exchange love tokens that night, Tong Xinyu had curled up under her blanket and made a promise that she would never tell anyone.

nShe wasn’t a child anymore. She knew what kind of impact outing someone in high school would have.

nEven though she couldn’t pursue them romantically anymore because of her sexual orientation, she definitely, definitely wouldn’t hurt them!

nThe love of her two male gods would be guarded by her.

nIt was actually quite exciting to think about.

nBut Tong Xinyu, who had to bitterly keep this secret, felt drained sometimes.

nMale gods, could you guys not make it so obvious?!

nDon’t get so close, don’t always touch each other’s hands in class, and definitely don’t feed your strawberries to the other person, okay?!

nThey were the ones in a relationship, but Tong Xinyu was the one worrying everyday about others finding out.

nHer heart was constantly in her throat, while Shi Qing and Zhuo Junli seemed as calm and relaxed as ever.

nMale gods, please wake up!

nLook down at the identical red strings on your wrists!

nYou’re supposed to be having an underground romance!

nDon’t make it so obvious!

nThe good thing was that no one in the class noticed anything even though Tong Xinyu’s hair had started to fall out due to stress.

nThey were just good buddies, ah.

nNot to mention that Shi Qing was just an overbearing person by nature. If a man was tired, it would be strange to let another man feed you and drape yourself all over his body.

nBut it was only natural when the school bully did it.

nActually, to many people, Shi Qing’s behaviour was like that of a rich young master who lazed around and had a servant feed him.

nThe most convincing thing was his unabashed attitude. He didn’t have any intentions of concealing this.

nEven in class, when the teacher was lecturing in the front, he would still put an arm around Zhuo Junli’s shoulders with a “this master will deign himself to listen to you” look on his face.

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nIt was hard to read into this attitude of his.

nIf there was something between the two of them, how could they be so brazen?

nThe only reasonable explanation was that there was nothing going on.

nSo until winter break, no one in the class noticed anything wrong with Shi Qing and Zhuo Junli.

nEven though they both wore a red string on their left hands.

nEven though they stuck together all day long.

nEven though every time someone in the class talked to Shi Qing, Zhuo Junli would wear a gentle smile and divert Shi Qing’s attention to himself.

nNo one noticed that the two most handsome guys in the class had hooked up.

nAs usual, there were exams before the holiday. After the grades were announced, the homeroom teacher said that it was time for a parent-teacher conference.

nWhile he was talking about this, Shi Qing was touching Zhuo Junli’s little hand and leaning lazily on him. His thighs were right beside the youth’s.

nThe homeroom teacher happily took in this scene. He sighed at how strange fate could be.

nAt first, Shi Qing caused trouble for Zhuo Junli whenever he could.

nNow, the two of them were this close. They did everything together, and Shi Qing’s grades even shot up like a rocket.

nHis mental activity fully demonstrated the meaning of the phrase hidden potential.

n“Anyways, your grades will be announced at the conference. Then the parents will have another meeting and everyone will be able to go home for the winter break.”

nShi Qing yawned lazily.

n“Teacher, my parents are busy. Can they not come?”

n“No.”

n“Don’t you want your parents to see how much you’ve improved? It’s best to give them a first hand account.”

nThen he quite proudly announced, “I’ve saved all your tests from the beginning of the school year to now. I’ve also made a graph of your grades so the times you excelled and struggled can easily be seen. Here I would like to recognize Shi Qing. Most of the class have had fluctuating grades. Only a small portion remained unchanged throughout.”

n“But Shi Qing was the only one whose grades consistently rose! At this parent-teacher conference, other than Zhuo Junli who’s always been first in his grade, Shi Qing would be the second student most worthy of praise.”

nLooking at the homeroom teacher who was as proud as a peach, the school bully turned to whisper into Zhuo Junli’s ear, “I was always last before. How can I get worse than that, ah.”

nThe youth looked at him softly and gently tugged on his pinky finger.

n“Our teacher is right. You’re very capable.”

nHe was complemented by his lover.

nThe tips of the school bully’s ears flushed red. He coughed as he said, “Of course I know I’m capable.”

nHe also slowly hooked Zhuo Junli’s finger.

nThe two of them played around under the desk as their homeroom teacher continued to speak seriously and earnestly, “Now that you are sophomores, your senior year isn’t very far away. This conference will be very solemn. I want to tell your parents your average grades and the amount of effort you put into learning so that they can better supervise you all. Therefore, at least one of your parents must come. No exceptions, understood?”

nA multitude of scattered agreements followed.

nZhuo Junli had always been able to hide his true feelings behind a mask. However, when he heard the homeroom teacher’s words, the smile on his lips froze before slipping off his face.

nThe school bully immediately sensed something was wrong and curiously leaned over.

n“What’s wrong?”

nThe youth shook his head. “Nothing.”

nSeeing that Shi Qing believed him and continued to fiddle with his fingers out of boredom, Zhuo Junli’s eyes darkened slightly.

nHe looked down and thought of his father.

nThe father who only had fists for him without a trace of parental affection growing up. The man who not only didn’t raise him, but actively tried all kinds of methods in an attempt to constantly take his scholarship money for himself.

nThe Zhuo Junli from before could’ve endured it or avoided him.

nHe was like a dormant baby eagle waiting for the fluff to fade from his feathers.

nOnly when he became an adult would he be able to completely escape the grasp of his abusive father.

nHe could endure.

nHe had endured it for so long anyway, what was a little longer?

nBut now…

nZhuo Junli looked at the yawning Shi Qing.

nIn reality, other than the first night, Shi Qing didn’t have to study late into the night. He went to sleep around the same time as before, but the school bully seemed sleepy everyday. His appearance made him want to carry him everywhere like a princess.

nShi Qing was the first treasure that belonged to him in his life.

nHe would never tolerate that man destroying Shi Qing’s image of him.

nThe youth once again lowered his long eyelashes. His beautiful face that was like a painting was silently devoid of emotion.

nThe next day at the parent-teacher conference.

nThe homeroom teacher had been guarding the classroom door since the early morning. He greeted the parents as they arrived.

nZhuo Junli stepped forward with a helpless look in his eyes. He whispered, “Teacher, my father couldn’t come.”

n“En? What happened?”

nThe obedient and sensible Zhuo Junli who was also number one in his grade was the homeroom teacher’s favorite student. Naturally, he also knew about Zhuo Junli’s home life and what kind of person his father was.

nNow that he heard Zhuo Junli’s father couldn’t come, his brows immediately furrowed.

nWhat kind of father is this?

nIt’s bad enough that he didn’t usually provide for his kid, forcing the poor thing to work part time and earn scholarships to cover his daily expenses, but he couldn’t even attend a parent-teacher conference?!

nThe sadness in the handsome schoolboy’s face became even more apparent. “He broke his leg. He really couldn’t come.”

nUpon hearing that, the homeroom teacher’s anger subsided a little.

n“It’s fine. Things are what they are. Your grades have always been stable and you work very hard as well. Actually, the purpose of this conference is to show parents how they can supervise their children, but you don’t need that anymore. Don’t think too much about this.”

n“Alright. Go downstairs and entertain yourself for a while. It’s good to take a break from studying sometimes.”

nZhuo Junli sensibly nodded and politely thanked him, “Thank you teacher.”

nAfter thanking him, he turned around to leave.

nThe homeroom teacher looked at the youth’s slender back and sighed.

nThis child really was sensible and kind.

nHow could he have such a **ty dad?

nDownstairs, Shi Qing was putting his feet on the basketball like an arrogant young master as he basked in the warm sun.

nTong, I have a joke to tell you.

nThe System was caught off-guard: What is it?

nYesterday I called in some people to go break that abusive dude’s leg so he couldn’t cause trouble at school, but guess what?

nSystem: What?

nShi Qing laughed, By the time my people arrived, his leg was already broken.

nSystem: ?

nShi Qing, Do you know how it broke?

nHe said he was drunk and sleeping at home when he fell out of bed.

nHe casually pulled out a pen from his pocket and spun it in his hand as he said, What angle would you say could break his leg from falling off the bed? This is an arithmetic question…

nSystem: ?

nThis System doesn’t understand.

nShi Qing, In layman’s terms, this abusive guy broke his leg after someone used precise calculations to smoothly break it at an angle that was basically impossible for an ordinary person to reach.

nIt dawned on the System.

nIt completely understood.

nIs someone a name?

nShi Qing looked up and slightly raised his eyebrows. Someone is coming.

nZhuo Junli was walking towards his spot.

nUnder the sunlight, the youth had a small smile on his fair face. His soft and short hair seemed to have golden strands of sun scattered throughout.

nWhen he walked over with that appearance, he looked like an angel that had landed on Earth.

nThen, the angel sat next to Shi Qing.

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