Zhong Qi was sitting at his desk, listening to music with headphones on, and continuing to write his military training summary. He noticed someone had sat down next to him and glanced over. He then turned his head, paused for a few seconds, and turned back to look at Lin Shiyu.

“Don’t ask.” Lin Shiyu said wearily, taking off his backpack and putting it on the desk, before Zhong Qi could speak. “I’m annoyed.”

A classmate who was sitting on the other side of the aisle, whispered, “Shiyu, I want to take a picture.”

Lin Shiyu replied, “If you dare to take a picture, I’ll throw your phone away.”

Lin Shiyu’s annoyance was about to overflow as he opened his backpack and tossed his notebook onto the desk. Zhong Qi thought for a moment and then handed him an earphone, asking, “Wanna listen?”

“Huh?”

“Listening to music helps to relax the mood,” Zhong Qi said as Lin Shiyu took out a pen from his backpack.

His expression was poor, his movements were rough, and he exuded an aura that clearly said: Don’t mess with me.

However, Zhong Qi’s gaze fell on Lin Shiyu. He was thin, and even after going through military training under the scorching sun, his skin was still fairer than most people who had been exposed to the sun. The soft round collar of his shirt adhered to his skin, making the line of his neck appear clean and smooth. The light blue shirt suited him perfectly, giving him a slightly girlish appearance. He held his pink bunny head backpack in his arms, and the long bunny ears wrapped around his slender wrist.

The combination of the rough and assertive style that ordinary high school boys wouldn’t attempt, coupled with the soft and sweet appearance, made Lin Shiyu appear oddly captivating. It was as if two contrasting styles violently collided within one person. On anyone else, it might have seemed bizarre, but on Lin Shiyu, it seemed to fit. 

Zhong Qi retracted his gaze and deftly turned his pen.

After Lin Shiyu placed his things on the desk and tossed his backpack into a drawer, he inadvertently bumped into something when raising his arm. There was a faint twang of guitar strings.

Lin Shiyu turned to look, only then realizing that a guitar packed in a case had been placed in the gap between their seats for some time.

He instinctively supported the guitar. “I didn’t notice.”

“No problem,” Zhong Qi replied.

Lin Shiyu recalled a message he had seen in the group chat a few days ago. “Are you performing on stage today?”

Zhong Qi didn’t seem very enthusiastic. “Don’t applaud me.”

Lin Shiyu sometimes found it challenging to understand Zhong Qi’s dry humor.

Li Zhong’s class was the last one in the morning. After half an hour of teaching, Li Zhong looked at the clock on the wall, closed his textbook, and placed it on the podium. “There are exactly fifteen minutes left. Zhong Qi, Tao Chen, I see that both of you have brought your instruments. How about coming up here to showcase your talents?”

Applause filled the classroom instantly, and Li Zhong said, “Ladies first. Tao Chen, please.”

Tao Chen, looking a bit shy, clutched her violin as she was urged to the front. She whispered softly. “Then, I’ll play a short part of ‘Castle in the Sky.'”

She adjusted her posture with the violin, and for some reason, her gaze gently brushed past Zhong Qi before she withdrew it. Then, she began to concentrate on playing the violin.

Tao Chen’s violin skills were quite impressive. Even in the beginning, it was evident to everyone that she had practiced for many years. Her demeanor while playing was very elegant, and today, she was wearing a white floral dress. Standing by the podium and playing the violin was both a visual and auditory delight.

After finishing a short segment, the people sitting below started clapping and cheering, praising Tao Chen, who blushed and stood there on the platform.

“Not bad, very good.” Li Zhong nodded approvingly, then called Zhong Qi. “Zhong Qi, please bring your guitar up.”

Gao Jia opened his mouth jokingly, “Brother Qi, you need to represent us guys.”

Zhong Qi took his guitar out of his bag, carried it onto the stage, and sat down. He tested the strings, saying: “I’ll just play ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’…”

The people in the front row immediately chimed in, “Little star, little star!”

Zhong Qi, looking bored, slung his guitar across his shoulder and sang, “Little Star.”

Then he played ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.’

Lin Shiyu, utterly bored, rested his chin on his hand, watching the group of people making noise. He felt that Zhong Qi played really well. With a simple tune, he played it very gently, his head slightly lowered in a quiet and calm manner. His long, well-defined fingers glided over the strings, hands naturally suited for playing musical instruments and quite good-looking.

“Not bad, both of you are even better than I imagined,” Li Zhong nodded. “So, will it be you two performing at the freshman party? Does anyone else have any objections?”

“No,” they all replied.

The bell rang as the class ended. Li Zhong tucked his textbook under his arm and said, “Alright, Class President and Entertainment Committee Head, come up with a performance together. Do it your way, and I won’t interfere anymore. Class dismissed.”

On the way from the classroom to the cafeteria, Gao Jie and their group walked beside Zhong Qi. Gao Jie sighed. “From now on, Class 7 will have a beautiful love story about them.”

Zhong Qi replied, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Gao Jie continued, “Hey, it’s not me. Tao Chen is so pretty, and you’re so handsome. One plays the violin, and the other plays the guitar. Perfect match, right? If you practice together every day, something might just happen, you know?”

Mao Silu asked, puzzled, “What do you mean by ‘something might just happen’?”

Gao Jie playfully nudged his head. “Of course, they might become a couple! Imagine being with pretty girls every day; wouldn’t you feel something?”

Ruan Zhikai, with a calm tone, remarked, “He might not be attracted to pretty girls but to handsome boys.”

Both Gao Jie and Zhong Qi turned to look at Mao Silu, who kicked Ruan Zhikai and stammered, “I, um, that’s not what I meant…”

Gao Jie said in a panic, “Don’t blush!”

Mao Silu mumbled, “I… I just meant… he’s really pretty, don’t you think?”

Silence.

It was lunchtime, and the cafeteria entrance was packed with people. The four of them stood in line, with Gao Jie and Mao Silu still discussing the previous topic.

Gao Jie asked, “So, do you think Shiyu is prettier than Tao Chen?”

Mao Silu replied, “That’s not what I meant! They have different genders and styles, how can you compare?”

“Well, tell us about their styles, then.”

“Tao Chen is… typically pretty, cute, and speaks softly. Shiyu is… a bit colder at times, and sometimes he’s pretty fierce, but I don’t find it strange when he wears girls’ clothes. Why does Shiyu wear girls’ clothes anyway?”

Ruan Zhikai guessed, “Crossdresser?”

Both Gao Jie and Mao Silu shook their heads vigorously. “Do you think he looks like a crossdresser?”

“Stop gossiping.” Zhong Qi finally spoke up. “It’s boring.”

Just as he said that, a loud clattering sound came from the noisy crowd nearby, followed by curses.

Lin Shiyu stood before a group of boys, with empty hands, his tray of food dropped on the ground.

“Are you crazy?” One tall boy in the middle, covered in food, shouted, “Can’t you watch where you’re going?”

Lin Shiyu said, “It’s you who wasn’t watching and bumped into my food.”

The boy, already angry from the food spill, was further provoked. “I was walking just fine, you insisted on carrying a tray and blocking the way!”

Though Lin Shiyu was shorter, he showed no signs of backing down. Instead, his expression grew increasingly irritable. “You’re walking carelessly in a crowded place and then blaming me. If you don’t need your eyes, you can donate them. If you find running downstairs to the playground too troublesome, don’t occupy this space.”

One of the boys next to the tall one said, “How can you talk like that? You’re just a sophomore, why are you acting so arrogantly?”

Lin Shiyu coldly retorted, “How I speak is none of your business.”

The boy couldn’t control his anger and pushed Lin Shiyu. “You son of a–”

At that moment, Lin Shiyu’s irritation flared up completely. He clenched his fist, the knuckles cracking audibly, and his beautiful eyes lifted, filled with anger and icy determination as he stared at the person in front of him.

A hand reached out, pressing on the shoulder of the boy blocking Lin Shiyu, and with a shove, the boy stumbled backward, caught by his friends behind him.

Zhong Qi had arrived in front of Lin Shiyu, pushing the guy away without a word, his tall stature naturally shielding Lin Shiyu as he calmly looked at the group of boys.

Mao Silu, who was standing nearby, was displeased. “What does it matter how he dresses?”

Gao Jie, with his burly arms, stood in between the two parties as a peacemaker, saying, “Hey, we’re all from the same school, why fight? Everyone, go eat separately. Let’s not argue anymore. Look at this mess, the food has been spilled. Shiyu, let’s go and get another meal.”

However, that boy was unwilling to let it go and taunted, “A guy wearing women’s clothes is disgusting, and people aren’t allowed to say anything?”

The next moment, Lin Shiyu pushed aside Zhong Qi, and amid the sudden gasps from the surrounding crowd as he delivered a punch to the boy’s face.

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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