GT - 3

The last self-study period of the afternoon hadn’t ended yet, and Hong Mao was already leaning against the Class 4 window.

Now, he shouldn’t be called Hong Mao (Red Hair) anymore, but Lu Dan (Braised Egg), as Zheng Hongkai, who sat behind Cheng Mi, had said.

Hong Mao’s red hair hadn’t attracted any pretty girls; instead, it had attracted teachers. That morning, the dean of students had stopped him at the school gate and sternly reprimanded him about his appearance, ordering him to dye his red hair back to black.

Under the pressure of expulsion, Hong Mao struggled for a moment but didn’t dye his hair black. Instead, he simply shaved it all off, leaving a black-and-red stubble plastered to his scalp. From a distance, it looked no different from a bald head.

“How about it? Shouldn’t I thank Old Tuo? If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t have discovered how handsome I look with a buzz cut. Thanks to Old Tuo for unearthing a handsome guy for everyone.” Old Tuo was the dean of students.

Cheng Mi heard Zheng Hongkai behind her slap his pen on the desk, snorting in preparation to fire at Hong Mao.

Before he could open his mouth, Li Zhiyu’s voice, growing closer, rang out from outside: “Shut up.”

Cheng Mi leisurely calculated the answer on her scratch paper with her pen tip before turning to look.

“Damn, the sun rose from the west today?” Hong Mao also turned to look at Li Zhiyu, who was walking towards them. “Haven’t you been elusive lately? Normally, you wouldn’t come out when I called, but today you’re suddenly so on board, knowing to come find our Sister Mi.”

Li Zhiyu kicked him in the leg: “Does your dad need you to manage him?”

Hong Mao chuckled: “Can’t manage, can’t manage, how could I manage you?”

He then moved away from the windowsill, gesturing: “Please, look at whoever you want.”

His voice wasn’t quiet; at least everyone in the quietly studying Class 4 could hear him.

As his words fell, the rustling of pen tips in the classroom instantly ceased. An invisible, subtle atmosphere spread, as if a large net had been cast between a point in the classroom and another point outside, covering everyone.

This atmosphere was unfamiliar to Cheng Mi, just as she knew nothing about this new city she had arrived in.

But her senses weren’t dull. Cheng Mi twirled her pen, her eyes scanning the classroom.

Time froze for only two seconds, broken by Hong Mao’s slightly stiff remark: “Um, the weather’s so good today, it’d be a waste not to go out and play. Where should we go after school?”

Li Zhiyu was the most composed person in this awkwardness, appearing outwardly respectable, yet probably the most cunning among everyone present. Such a person was too smart; finding flaws in him was impossible.

He replied to Hong Mao: “Let’s go to the billiards hall.”

Then he looked at Cheng Mi and asked, “How about it?”

Cheng Mi stopped writing and smiled: “Alright.”

The dismissal bell rang at the opportune moment. Cheng Mi packed her bag and left with them. A few more people waited downstairs, and the group walked out of school.

Just outside the school gate, Cheng Mi’s phone rang in her pocket.

The noisy boys beside her, she took out her phone. It was a text message from Si Huiru.

- Cheng Mi, come home early after school. Auntie cooked a table full of dishes. Let’s have dinner together tonight.

If Cheng Mi remembered correctly, Si Huiru had a job as an accountant at a company. Although she rarely worked overtime, it was impossible for her to be home this early. It seemed she had taken the day off.

Cheng Mi’s fingertips unconsciously rubbed the edge of her phone.

Li Zhiyu looked at her, standing still: “Why aren’t you walking?”

Cheng Mi looked up, asking a question that wasn’t a direct answer: “If you really didn’t want to eat that meal with someone, would you still go?”

Most people would be stumped by such a sudden question, but Li Zhiyu wasn’t. He spoke clearly and logically: “Then why go? Just flake. If you don’t even want to go, could someone you hate tie you up and drag you there?”

Cheng Mi caught the keyword: “Hate?”

“Isn’t it?”

She didn’t reply, just smiled, put away her phone: “Alright, you guys go to the billiards hall.”

Li Zhiyu looked at her: “Going to eat?”

Cheng Mi neither confirmed nor denied: “I’m off first.” With that, she turned and walked in another direction.

Li Zhiyu didn’t say anything, but Hong Mao, who was chatting with his buddies, saw her leave and yelled after her: “Where are you going? Not coming to play with us?”

No response.

The crowd at the school gate intermingled, and Cheng Mi’s figure was quickly dispersed by the wave of black and white school uniforms.

________________________________________

The sky was gloomy, casting a somber shadow over the stairwell.

Cheng Mi leaned by the window, smoking her first cigarette since arriving here.

Smoke curled around her face, intertwining with the fierce quarrel sounds in the air.

It came from Door No. 1, directly opposite the stairwell. A girlfriend complained about her boyfriend’s lack of ambition, saying he hadn’t achieved anything noteworthy in two years to convince her parents. The boyfriend accused his girlfriend of repeatedly siding with her parents against him, never choosing him or understanding him.

Cheng Mi stretched her hand out the window, tapping the cigarette with her fingertips. Ash fluttered down.

The door opened.

A girl, about twenty-five or twenty-six, came down the stairs with a suitcase, her steps clattering. Halfway down, she stopped, pulled by a sound from inside the room. The boy said if she left again this time, he wouldn’t come to pick her up if she returned.

The girl hesitated for a few seconds, but still left, tears streaming down her face as she passed Cheng Mi.

The cigarette in Cheng Mi’s hand burned to its end. She crushed it on the windowsill and tossed it into the trash can. Then she took out perfume from her bag and sprayed some to cover the smoke smell.

She walked a few steps back to Door No. 5. As she pushed the door open and entered, Si Huiru was coming out of the kitchen, carrying dishes.

Seeing her return, Si Huiru smiled at her: “You’re back?”

Then she turned, a little embarrassed, and said to her: “Just one soup left; it’s simmering in the kitchen. It’ll be ready once the soup is done. Are you hungry? If you are, sit down and eat first.”

“No, not very hungry,” Cheng Mi said.

Just as she finished speaking, the door behind her opened with a click.

Cheng Mi turned around and met the gaze of the newcomer. Their eyes lingered on her face for a second, then shifted away as they bent down to change shoes.

At the dining table, Si Huiru hurriedly placed the dishes on the table: “You’re back? Perfect, let me introduce you two.”

She walked over. The narrow entryway suddenly had three people standing in it, and the air felt a little crowded.

“I haven’t formally introduced you two yet, have I?” Si Huiru put her hand on the boy’s arm, which was covered by his school uniform jacket, and introduced him to Cheng Mi, “This is Tingyan. He’s in Senior Two this year, and he attends Fenggao, just like you.”

Cheng Mi already knew this from the morning, without Si Huiru needing to mention it.

“Although Xiao Yan is two years younger than you, if you ever need anything, you can ask him for help. He’s lived here since he was little, so he’s more familiar with the area.”

It was cloudy outside; there was no sunset in the evening. Si Tingyan stood in the shadows, yet his skin was still dazzlingly pale.

Cheng Mi nodded, giving a polite and generous smile: “Okay.”

Then she heard Si Huiru tell her son: “This is the older sister I told you about yesterday. She’s come to live with us here, and from now on, we’re a family. You should take good care of your older sister at home and at school.”

Cheng Mi looked at him.

Si Tingyan also looked over.

Cheng Mi then noticed his long eyelashes. The curve of his eye corners drooped slightly, but it didn’t make him look innocent or docile at all. His black pupils were cold and distant.

Although his lips looked somewhat heartless, they made you pause for a few seconds with just one glance.

It was a strikingly attractive face, even with a slightly sickly complexion.

Si Huiru’s voice cut into their eye contact midway. Cheng Mi’s gaze was interrupted, and she turned to look at Si Huiru.

Although Si Huiru’s initial stiffness had long since relaxed with her gentle demeanor since Cheng Mi arrived, she still smiled shyly and spoke softly: “If you ever encounter any trouble, remember to tell Auntie, and ask your younger brother for help. Don’t be afraid to bother us.”

Cheng Mi was very considerate, smiling: “I won’t.”

“Then let’s hurry and eat. The food will get cold soon,” Si Huiru said, then turned to Si Tingyan, “Xiao Yan, come out once you’ve put your school bag away and have dinner with your older sister.”

Si Tingyan said: “Got it.”

When he spoke, Cheng Mi was surprised to find that Si Tingyan actually had small canines, like little fangs.

This was also the first time she had heard his voice. It matched his person—cool in quality, with the clean, sharp edge of a young man.

Si Tingyan walked past her, carrying his school bag.

Soon, the three of them sat down at the dining table. Si Huiru asked Cheng Mi: “Are you still adjusting to school today?”

“It’s alright.”

“That’s good, as long as you can adjust. Your uncle said you have a strong ability to adapt and can settle in anywhere well. It seems he was right.”

Cheng Mi’s chopsticks paused. As she stopped, her chopstick tip touched Si Tingyan’s, who was also picking up food.

Si Tingyan stopped, seemed to glance at her, and silently withdrew his chopsticks.

Cheng Mi didn’t look back, also withdrew her hand, and met Si Huiru’s gaze with a fleeting smile: “Indeed.”

The conversation stopped, and there was nothing to say.

After all, they had only known each other for a day, so there wasn’t much to talk about. Si Huiru wasn’t a very talkative person either, and furthermore, Si Tingyan rarely participated in their conversations. The first family dinner ended in this intermittent, awkward atmosphere.

________________________________________

The first week at Fenggao wasn’t dull or boring, at least for people like Cheng Mi who didn’t spend all their time immersed in studying.

The two weekend days were a carnival for these boys; they went wild and crazy everywhere, almost getting drunk on the streets. After a week of hanging out with Li Zhiyu and Hong Mao, Cheng Mi could say she had thoroughly toured the city of Fengxun.

But the easy times were short-lived; after the wild indulgence, strict discipline cracked down.

On Monday, the souls beneath the school uniforms were listless, a dull gloom enveloping the school. Half the class was dozing off, Hong Mao being one of them.

Cheng Mi returned to her classroom after physics lab, meeting Hong Mao on the way.

The two walked up the stairs together, Hong Mao twirling a book in his hand and cursing: “Who the hell invented Monday? It should be called ‘Human Tribulation Day.’ There are still four more days of this miserable life. I’d rather be a dog than face Monday, it’s that painful.”

Cheng Mi was silent for a few seconds, then, as if relieved, she said, “Forget it, being a dog is hard too.”

This sentence was quickly swallowed by the flow of people going up and down the stairs. After a group passed, Hong Mao sidled back to Cheng Mi, having forgotten the previous topic, and picked up another curious matter: “Let me ask you something. What were you and Li Zhiyu doing last night?”

“Doing what?”

Hong Mao’s face clearly showed he knew the answer: “Tsk, didn’t Li Zhiyu take you home last night? He didn’t come back to the bar afterward. Were you two together all along?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

“Damn, you and Li Zhiyu truly are a couple; both of your mouths are tighter than the other.” Hong Mao was so focused on digging for gossip that he wasn’t looking where he was going. The next second after his words fell, he almost bumped into someone coming around the stair corner.

The book he was twirling in his fingers suddenly slammed out, hitting the person with a thud and then clattering to the ground.

Cheng Mi also braked, almost colliding head-on. She looked up, her gaze fixed.

Si Tingyan’s eyes also fell on her face. While others were still wearing short sleeves, he had already put on a neat and clean school uniform jacket, bearing no resemblance to the vibrant boys of his age.

His expression was indifferent and sullen, his aura making people keep their distance, yet his delicate constitution didn’t cooperate.

Resilience mixed with fragility.

Hong Mao on the side reacted quickly, picking up the book while apologizing: “Damn, sorry, buddy.” He looked up and saw the other person’s face, and his voice naturally trailed off, silencing him.

Before he could react, Cheng Mi had already moved aside.

Si Tingyan said nothing extra, walking between the two of them. Hong Mao’s gaze followed him until he went downstairs, still looking back.

Cheng Mi noticed the oddity and asked him: “You know him?”

As they continued upstairs, Hong Mao replied to Cheng Mi: “Know him? I’m afraid he’d rip me apart if I got too close.”

Cheng Mi didn’t know much about Si Tingyan. Besides living under the same roof and knowing his name, she knew nothing about him.

He clearly seemed like a good student who didn’t cause trouble, yet it was the opposite with Hong Mao, the kind of person others would try to avoid on the street.

So, she was a bit surprised by Hong Mao’s reaction: “He doesn’t like you?”

Hong Mao tossed the book in his hand: “Not just me, he doesn’t like my brother Li Zhiyu, or you, Li Zhiyu’s girlfriend. None of us who are associated with Li Zhiyu can escape.” He then made a gesture across his forehead.

This was even more unexpected. Cheng Mi was curious and raised an eyebrow: “Oh, so he has a grudge against Li Zhiyu?”

Unfortunately, just as her words fell, the class bell rang.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you next time if I get the chance. Anyway, Li Zhiyu just doesn’t provoke him.”

Class 15 was still some distance away, and the class bell was like a death knell for Hong Mao: “My next class is with the Demonic Nun, she’s super strict. Missing class means 50 push-ups; I’m terrified. I’m off first!”

As he said this, he ran upstairs two steps at a time, disappearing around the stair corner in a flash.

Class 4 was on this floor, and the corridor was still filled with laughter and leisurely lingering. Cheng Mi withdrew her gaze and turned back to her classroom.