Half a month before the final exams, Teacher Li Zhong issued a stern order to the class’s designated biology representative: Lin Shiyu had to pass both biology and English in the monthly exam, or face serious consequences.

Lin Shiyu almost broke down.

Recently recovered Gao Jie, still loud as ever, shouted, “Don’t worry, Shiyu! You’re the best!”

Mao Silu chimed in, “It’s okay, passing isn’t that hard. We can do it!”

Chen Xiaoxin handed over his study guide. “I have videos explaining the main uses of all English prepositions. They’re really good. You should watch them. If you find them helpful, I’ll send them to you.”

Lin Shiyu hesitated, taking the study guide. “Oh… thank–thank you.”

Chen Xiaoxin handed him the earphones too. Lin Shiyu plugged them in and started watching the video. Gao Jie and Mao Silu, curious, watched over his shoulder. After a while, they exchanged glances.

Gao Jie said, “I think Shiyu’s study attitude is great.”

Mao Silu agreed. “Yes, he needs encouragement!”

Gao Jie searched his pockets and pulled out a handful of star candies, calling out to Lin Shiyu, “Shiyu, here, have some candy to boost your brain power.”

Lin Shiyu, focused on the video with his earphones in, ignored him.

Gao Jie placed the candies in his hat and went back to his own business.

Lin Shiyu found it difficult to adjust his mindset. Ever since starting high school, he had never intended to study seriously, just wanting to muddle through and find a job after graduation to earn money. As a result, he had no idea where to start when it came to studying.

“When I explained things to you before, you didn’t listen properly,” Zhong Qi said. “Now you’re worried.”

Lin Shiyu felt misunderstood. “I did listen!”

“Oh, then you didn’t understand,” Zhong Qi replied, engrossed in playing Fish Island on his phone. “Must be hard for you.”

Lin Shiyu angrily snatched Zhong Qi’s phone away. Play, play, play—every day after class, he hid under the desk to play games. If he played puzzle games, it would be understandable, but he played this mindless fish-feeding game instead. How could he get such good grades without studying?

Zhong Qi, bewildered by the sudden loss of his phone, took some candy from Lin Shiyu’s hat, leisurely unwrapped it, and asked, “What do you want?”

“Help me with English,” Lin Shiyu found it hard to say, but he feared failing the monthly exam and facing Mr. Li Zhong’s punishments more. After thinking it over, he had no choice but to ask Zhong Qi for help. “Just to pass.”

“What do I get in return?”

“Whatever you want,” Lin Shiyu replied, annoyed.

“Let’s study at your place,” Zhong Qi suggested. “With your brain, just teaching you at school won’t be enough.”

Lin Shiyu resisted the urge to punch him and agreed through gritted teeth. “Fine.”

“Also make dinner for me. No one cooks at my place in the evening.”

“Why is there never anyone to cook at your place?”

During winter break, Zhong Qi came over for dinner at Lin Shiyu’s place almost every day. Lin Shiyu tolerated it since Zhong Qi played guitar with his sister. He found it odd that Zhong Qi’s family never cooked dinner because Zhong Qi didn’t seem like someone who enjoyed takeout or restaurant food.

“Your parents don’t cook?” Lin Shiyu asked.

Zhong Qi continued playing on his phone, answering, “No.”

Then he added, “Even if they did, it wouldn’t taste as good as yours.”

Lin Shiyu sat in silence for a while, then got up and left.

Today, Lin Hui was working overtime as she hadn’t started her new job yet. After school, Lin Shiyu had to detour to pick up Lin Wanyue. Zhong Qi naturally went with him. They had gotten used to going home together, and no one thought it was strange. Even Lin Wanyue, when she came out of school, just looked at Zhong Qi for a moment before accepting his presence.

Lin Wanyue didn’t want to ride Zhong Qi’s bike, so Lin Shiyu walked with her while Zhong Qi rode slowly beside them. He observed the parents and children they passed, ranging in age from six or seven to fifteen or sixteen. Some were lively, some walked with their heads down, ignoring their parents, and some older kids walked home alone, looking no different from ordinary children.

Zhong Qi gradually became accustomed to interacting with Lin Wanyue, finding a way to “communicate” with her. Unlike the extreme or self-harming cases he had seen online, Lin Wanyue had a gentle and cheerful temperament, making her one of the easiest Down Syndrome children to get along with.

When they arrived at Lin Shiyu’s home, he went to the kitchen to cook, and Zhong Qi stayed in the living room to teach Lin Wanyue to play the guitar. He found it easier to teach her guitar than to teach her to speak. By setting a metronome nearby and repeatedly playing a simple tune in front of her, Lin Wanyue could remember it and practice the fingering on her own.

In this regard, she was even smarter than her brother.

Zhong Qi wandered into the kitchen where Lin Shiyu, wearing an apron, was chopping vegetables. A pot of tomato meat soup simmered on the stove, filling the kitchen with a rich, sweet aroma. Smelling the soup, Zhong Qi took a few steps closer.

Lin Shiyu, feeling crowded, glared at him. “Get out, stop bothering me while I’m cooking.”

Zhong Qi ignored him and picked up a slice of cucumber to eat as Lin Shiyu continued with his tasks, pretending Zhong Qi didn’t exist. Zhong Qi ate the cucumber slice, looking around the small kitchen. Despite its size, it was well-equipped with pots, pans, and seasonings, unlike his own kitchen, which didn’t even have a bag of salt. The countertops were full, and the dishes were neatly arranged. The kitchen, though small and cramped, was clean and filled with a sense of home.

His gaze fell on Lin Shiyu. His hair slightly drooped over his forehead and his eyelashes curved, shadowing his eyes. His nose, slightly reddened from the steam, and his lips, pursed in concentration, were a rosy, translucent color, matching his smooth, fair skin.

Leaning against the counter, Zhong Qi watched Lin Shiyu and suddenly asked, “Besides me, have you ever cooked for anyone else?”

Lin Shiyu, puzzled, replied, “For my mom and sister.”

“Who else?”

“No one else,” Lin Shiyu said, placing the chopped vegetables onto a plate and turning on the stove. “No one really visits, and those who do don’t come back a second time. You’re the only one who keeps coming over.”

Zhong Qi watched Lin Shiyu busying himself with cooking, the apron strings tied in a loose bow at his waist, his shoulders and back slender, his neck thin and pale.

He reached out and gently tugged on the bow at Lin Shiyu’s back. After a moment, the bow came undone.

Lin Shiyu, unaware, continued checking the soup. Zhong Qi held the apron strings in his hand, feeling a sudden dry thirst in his throat and a hunger in his stomach, stronger than the hunger he felt from smelling the soup.

“Your apron came undone,” Zhong Qi said, his voice slightly hoarse.

“Hmm?” Lin Shiyu, busy, didn’t notice anything unusual. “Help me tie it, please.”

Zhong Qi stepped forward, wrapping his fingers around the apron strings, slowly tying a knot. Amid the aroma of the food filling the kitchen, he caught the familiar scent of Lin Shiyu, fresh and clean like the forest after rain, mixed with the warm scent emanating from his skin.

Has anyone else ever smelled this scent? Zhong Qi absentmindedly tied a bow at Lin Shiyu’s waist, thinking, hopefully not.

Lin Shiyu tasted the soup with a spoon, finding it a bit bland. He turned and handed the spoon to Zhong Qi. “Taste it.”

Zhong Qi bent down slightly, sipping the soup from the spoon Lin Shiyu held out.

“Just right,” he said.

Letting go of the apron strings, he turned and left the kitchen.

Lin Shiyu poured the soup into a bowl, putting the pot into the sink to wash. It took him a moment to realize what had happened.

What did he do just now? Feed Zhong Qi soup? Did he really just feed Zhong Qi soup?

Lin Shiyu turned on the faucet and vigorously scrubbed the pot, wondering what had come over him. Why did it feel so natural to feed him? Zhong Qi just drank it. Was this normal behavior between two boys? Did Mao Silu and Ruan Zhikai feed each other soup like this?!

Mao Silu and Ruan Zhikai were currently playing basketball at the community court and sneezed simultaneously.

When dinner was ready, Lin Shiyu saved a portion for Lin Hui and called the two from the living room to eat. Lin Wanyue eagerly sat at the table, and Zhong Qi sat across from Lin Shiyu, casually picking up his chopsticks and starting to eat.

Lin Shiyu was still bothered by what happened earlier. He didn’t understand why, but it felt like Zhong Qi didn’t see himself as an outsider, and neither did he.

Seeing Lin Shiyu holding his chopsticks without eating, Zhong Qi suddenly asked, “Do you want me to feed you?”

Lin Shiyu almost dropped his bowl in shock. Looking up at Zhong Qi’s expression, he couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious. Zhong Qi always had a calm, expressionless face, making it hard to read his thoughts.

Frustrated, Lin Shiyu picked up his bowl. “No need.”

The tips of his ears had turned slightly red.

After dinner, Lin Shiyu washed the dishes, cleaned the table, and took Lin Wanyue to her room to do homework. Zhong Qi followed him from the kitchen to the living room, and then to the bedroom.

Lin Shiyu, treating Zhong Qi like a human shadow, busied himself until he returned to his room and took out his homework. He pulled over a chair for Zhong Qi. “Sit.”

Zhong Qi had been in Lin Shiyu’s room a few times during the winter break and was familiar with the layout, from the bead pig on the desk his sister made to the neatly folded bed.

Zhong Qi never liked making his bed. Looking around Lin Shiyu’s tidy room, he imagined Lin Shiyu making his bed.

A hand pushed him back to reality. “Teach me,” Lin Shiyu said.

Zhong Qi nonchalantly opened his workbook and started tutoring Lin Shiyu.

When Lin Hui came home later that evening, she was delighted to see Zhong Qi. She couldn’t help asking him about Lin Shiyu’s school life and his relationships with classmates. Zhong Qi, with his good manners and appearance, and the fact he was helping Lin Shiyu with his studies, made Lin Hui like him even more. She even asked if he wanted to stay over, which Lin Shiyu immediately refused, pushing Zhong Qi out the door.

Zhong Qi left Lin Shiyu’s house around nine. Lin Shiyu walked him downstairs, handing him a package of small cakes from Lin Hui. “My mom gave these to you.”

Walking through the dark, pebbled path of the neighborhood, Lin Shiyu accompanied Zhong Qi to the gate, where the streetlights illuminated the street.

Zhong Qi suddenly asked, “How about we go out and have fun this summer?”

Lin Shiyu, puzzled, asked, “What kind of fun?”

Zhong Qi seemed amused by his slow reaction and smiled, reaching out to pat his head. “You’ll find out after the exams. Just do well.”

Lin Shiyu swatted his hand away. “Don’t keep patting my head!”

“Sorry, it’s just the right height.”

“You–”

Zhong Qi dodged Lin Shiyu’s attempts to hit him and leisurely walked toward his own apartment building. Annoyed at being teased for his height, Lin Shiyu shouted after him, “I didn’t agree to go with you!”

“Got it,” Zhong Qi’s voice came back, still annoyingly calm.

Lin Shiyu turned and walked back, feeling that Zhong Qi was just messing with him, and was a bit frustrated.

As he reached his building, he thought, how many days until the final exams?

 

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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