Xiao Yan: “It’s fine.”
Luo Sixue finally heard the words she’d been hoping for. She smiled in relief, but before she could speak, Xiao Yan’s next words left her speechless again.
Xiao Yan: “That scene from back then still feels like it happened yesterday. I remember it perfectly. It was pretty interesting, and I often reminisce about it. As far as I’m concerned, that incident has never become a thing of the past.”
Xiao Yan: “Thank you, Sis. I mean it.”
Luo Sixue: “……”
The kid from their rival family really was hopeless. He was already in university, so why was he still so rebellious?
Going against the grain like this, he seemed determined to keep fighting with Luo Zhiyu until the end of time.
There was no talking him out of it. Absolutely no talking him out of it.
But to be fair, when Luo Zhiyu was three years old, he had been the sort of kid who pointed where he wanted something to go and then made it happen. He was fierce whenever he saw Xiao Yan, incredibly clingy, and endlessly inventive when it came to causing trouble. Their childhood grudge had been entirely justified.
Luo Sixue received several more thank-yous, decided that her attempt at reconciliation had failed, and took a hit to her confidence. She exchanged a few more pleasantries with Xiao Yan and chatted about some inconsequential things.
What surprised her, though, was that even though Xiao Yan was already a university freshman, he knew Luo Zhiyu, who was still attending No. 1 High School, remarkably well. He even knew all sorts of tiny details about Luo Zhiyu’s everyday life.
“Not bad, not bad,” Xiao Yan said modestly.
Through Xiao Yan, Luo Sixue gained a general understanding of how Luo Zhiyu had been doing lately.
“Speaking of which…” Luo Sixue suddenly remembered something. She had heard her family mention it several times before. “You’re studying at U University, right?”
Xiao Yan nodded. “I’m a freshman.”
“Oh…” Luo Sixue wanted to fish for some information. “My Luo Zhiyu seems to have been going over there a lot lately. He says he’s visiting his boyfriend.”
Xiao Yan: “!”
“Have you met his boyfriend? He isn’t very willing to show us pictures, and it’s a little awkward for the rest of the family to ask too many questions. So I’m afraid I’ll have to be a little presumptuous and ask you about it.”
Xiao Yan: “I’ve met him. He’s great. Handsome and reliable.”
Luo Sixue: “?”
“Why are you over here, Sis?” Luo Zhiyu had slipped back. “I’ve been making the rounds greeting everyone. I’m exhausted.”
As he spoke, Luo Zhiyu nudged Xiao Yan to the right, squeezing out a space for himself on the sofa.
Luo Sixue knew perfectly well that these two had a terrible relationship, so watching them was a little nerve-racking.
“Then I’ll… go look around over there? You two, please do me a favor today. No fighting or arguing here, okay? If you have a problem, go back and fight it out later. You can manage that, right?”
“Sure, Sis.” Luo Zhiyu was very cooperative. “We’ll fight later.”
“Sure, Sis.” Xiao Yan repeated after him. “We’ll fight later.”
Luo Sixue walked away, still feeling rather uneasy.
After she had taken ten steps, Luo Zhiyu lifted his foot and kicked Xiao Yan in the calf.
“What were you two talking about?”
Xiao Yan lightly kicked him back. “A few things about you.”
After fifteen steps, Luo Sixue turned around, still worried. The two young men were sitting properly on the sofa, waving at her in unison. They had managed to create an impressively convincing appearance of harmony.
“Things about me?”
“I told her you’ve been going to U University a lot lately. She asked me what your boyfriend looks like and what kind of person he is.”
Luo Zhiyu: “……”
“Then what, Yan-Yan? Did you shamelessly spend the whole time praising yourself?” Luo Zhiyu had already experienced something similar when he brought a parrot home.
“Not really,” Xiao Yan said. “I just told her the truth. It was more accurate than the parrot’s endless flattery.”
“Fine.” He had a point. Besides, this was such a great opportunity to earn some brownie points. Why waste it? “Remember to help me earn some points, too.”
In any case, by the end of the evening’s banquet, the two of them felt that, as actors, they had successfully pulled off the whole “familiar but not familiar” act.
After all, near the end of the banquet, the two company bosses who were negotiating a business partnership were unwilling to temporarily call a truce themselves. Instead, they insisted on mediating between the younger generation, asking Luo Zhiyu and Xiao Yan to show each other some goodwill.
“Cooperation benefits everyone,” Boss Luo said. “Zhiyu will be a university student soon. From now on, stop fighting every time you see Xiao Yan.”
“Ahem. The same goes for our Xiao Yan. He’s a year older, after all, so he should be the one to give Luo Zhiyu some leeway.”
Luo Zhiyu: “?”
[Zhizhi]: What a bunch of hypocritical businesspeople.
[Zhizhi]: Just empty pleasantries.
[Zhizhi]: Behind our backs, they’re definitely all thinking, “Did you win the fight?”
[Orange]: Shh.
“Let big matters become small and small matters disappear entirely. I don’t think the two of you have any particularly serious disagreements. Why not make peace for now?”
[Zhizhi]: What kind of ridiculous maneuver is this?
[Orange]: Shh.
[Zhizhi]: I still have the temporary mark you bit onto the back of my neck last time. And they want us to make peace by shaking hands?
[Orange]: Shh.
[Zhizhi]: We’re practically at the stage of cooking the rice, and only now are they telling us to start planting it. Ha!
[Zhizhi]: What a spectacle.
Luo Zhiyu’s sarcasm skill was almost at max level.
[Orange]: ……
[Orange]: All right, come over and shake hands.
[Orange]: Hurry up. Stop looking down at your phone. They’ll think we’re unwilling.
And so, with both families watching, the two of them each put on a straight face and shook hands to make peace.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was looking, Luo Zhiyu scratched several lines into Xiao Yan’s palm. Xiao Yan pinched a patch of skin on Luo Zhiyu’s hand until it turned red. Both of them were secretly competing with each other, and both were perfectly happy about it.
“Want to go for a walk?” Luo Zhiyu pointed toward the door.
“Sure.” Xiao Yan took the lead.
Luo Sixue: “……”
“They definitely think we’re going outside to arrange a fight.” In a corner of the hotel corridor outside the banquet hall, Luo Zhiyu leaned against the wall, finding the whole thing funnier the more he thought about it.
“Just think of it as meeting the parents in advance.” Xiao Yan bent down and kissed the corner of his eye. “We haven’t skipped a single step in the usual process.”
“You two…” someone suddenly spoke up. “What are you doing?”
It was the alpha who had wanted to make friends with Luo Zhiyu earlier at the banquet.
Xiao Yan calmly bit Luo Zhiyu’s neck once more, then released his hand from Luo Zhiyu’s waist.
Luo Zhiyu calmly straightened his collar.
A third-year high school student and a university freshman suddenly became very streetwise, cornering their friend who had happened to walk by.
“What did you see?” Luo Zhiyu patted the guy on the shoulder.
Everyone attending tonight was smart. They understood what was meant with barely any explanation. The alpha friend was especially quick on the uptake.
“Brother Luo, Brother Xiao, I was just passing by after taking a piss. I didn’t see anything.”
“Good.” Xiao Yan patted the other shoulder. “If anyone asks when you get back, what should you say?”
“I saw you two arranging a fight!” the alpha shouted.
“No need to mention arranging a fight. Just say we were arguing.” Xiao Yan gestured for Luo Zhiyu to let him go. “Thanks. Now that we’ve met, we’re friends from now on.”
Their new friend: “……”
What was going on? Was this the kind of understanding people with supposedly zero pheromone compatibility were supposed to have?
They were both equally awful, and they were equally fierce without even planning it.
Their new friend made a very swift escape.
“Actually, they’ll find out eventually,” Luo Zhiyu said, watching the guy flee in a panic and laughing aloud. “The two of us, a pair of traitors.”
“We’ll deal with that when the day comes.” Xiao Yan finished the kiss they had interrupted earlier.
The faint scent of white peach enveloped him once again.
“Zhizhi, do you want to get your pheromone compatibility retested?” Xiao Yan remembered his friend Qian Shuyu’s earlier suggestion. “I mean, go get another test to check the pheromone compatibility between the two of us.”
“I’m fine with it. I don’t mind. Maybe it’ll have gone up to 0.002%.” Luo Zhiyu had stopped caring about pheromones a long time ago. “You’ve worked so hard at raising the score, so maybe it’ll increase a little. Anyway, it’s not much trouble. We’re both considered special cases, so once we’re attending the same university, they’ll probably arrange another test for us anyway.”
“Then we’ll wait until you’re in university.” They reached an agreement immediately. “Try a little harder. Let’s aim for 1%.”
The winter break for third-year high school students was short. It was an unwritten rule at No. 1 High School. Before the eighth day of the Lunar New Year had even passed, Luo Zhiyu was already dragging his suitcase back to school in an extremely foul mood, with Xiao Yan tagging along as unwanted extra baggage.
“Why are you following me again?” Director Wu had become numb to it all. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
A certain person simply couldn’t bear to part with No. 1 High School. Every few days, he came back to “reminisce,” giving most of the teachers the illusion that he hadn’t actually graduated yet.
“Remember to change to your spring bedding. Don’t buy those bizarre dishes in the cafeteria. For now, that’s about it…” Xiao Yan caught sight of Director Wu eavesdropping out of the corner of his eye and got a mischievous idea. “Make sure you grow nice and plump. If you get into a fight, Brother Yan’s got your back.”
“Get lost, get lost, get lost. Are you raising a pig?” Luo Zhiyu shooed him away, then whispered, “I’ll video-call you tonight. We’ll do homework together.”
April was manageable and not too busy. Luo Zhiyu went to U University several times, became familiar with the campus, and even attended another general education class for Xiao Yan. This time, Luo Zhiyu had more experience. He brazenly pretended to be a university student, volunteered answers in class, and even helped Xiao Yan earn extra participation points. His classmates were so envious they practically contorted themselves.
As May approached and the college entrance examination drew near, even some Saturdays and Sundays were occasionally taken up by school activities. Luo Zhiyu began a month-long online relationship.
[Orange]: Fairy frowning.jpg Long-distance relationship plus online dating.
[Zhizhi]: Just wait. Once my exams are over, I’ll go meet my online friend in person.
[Orange]: ……
[Zhizhi]: Online dating is very demanding. If my online friend isn’t good-looking, I’m running away immediately.
[Orange]: He’s good-looking, he’s good-looking.
[Zhizhi]: Actually, I feel like I’ve pretty much reached the point where there’s nothing left to revise. At this stage, there isn’t much more to review. But to create a bit of a studious atmosphere for everyone, I’ve decided to sit obediently in the classroom for the next little while.
[Orange]: Has your admission ticket been issued yet? I’ll come see you off for the exam.
[Zhizhi]: [Picture]
[Zhizhi]: Wait for me, okay, big brother? I’m about to catch up with you.
[Orange]: I talked to Old Wu. Count me in for the exam send-off! As soon as you walk out after finishing the exam, you’ll see me.
[Orange]: By that calculation, you’ll finish your exams in early June, while I still won’t have my summer break.
[Zhizhi]: Yep. Summer vacation is long this year.
[Orange]: Boyfriend, come attend class for me! I’ve added another general education class.
[Zhizhi]: Get lost, get lost, get lost.
On the day of the college entrance examination in June, a certain person slipped into the group accompanying the students from the municipal No. 1 High School.
Beneath the temporary sunshade set up outside the examination venue, Xiao Yan sat among the parents wearing a third-year high school uniform, holding a stack of flyers handed to him by a tutoring center while waiting for Luo Zhiyu.
“Hm? The third-year uniform from No. 1 High School?” one parent noticed Xiao Yan. “Young man, aren’t you going in to take the exam?”
“He’s not taking it. Don’t mind him. He graduated last year. He’s a fake high school student who’s wearing a disguise to join the fun. He insisted on putting on a school uniform because he said it creates the right atmosphere.” Director Wu seized the opportunity to steer the conversation toward a topic he found much more interesting.
Director Wu introduced him. “Let me introduce him. This is Xiao Yan, currently a first-year student at U University.”
No parent from No. 1 High School could possibly be unfamiliar with Xiao Yan. They had seen him at the opening ceremony, and after last year’s college entrance examination, his name had appeared at the very top of the school’s list of outstanding results.
“Director Wu really went to the trouble of inviting last year’s top scorer to come and see the students off.” One parent began praising him. “How auspicious!”
“That’s wonderful. He hasn’t forgotten his school even after graduating. He still comes back to visit every now and then.”
“I hope our child can absorb some of that good luck and perform exceptionally well.”
“No. 1 High School really knows how to educate its students. Even after they graduate, they still feel such a strong attachment to their school. That’s truly impressive.”
A certain disposable mascot beamed especially brightly while surrounded by a crowd of parents.
Director Wu: “……”
No, no. You people don’t understand.
How should he put it? The top scorer hadn’t been invited. He had shown up entirely of his own accord.