The students chatted as they walked, and before long, they reached the mountaintop.
Seeing how happy they were, the instructor let them go off to explore on their own.
However, he didn’t let them wander too far, making sure everyone stayed within sight.
A few boys spotted girls from another class on the opposite hilltop. They stood on their side of the mountain, laughing as they called out to them and sang “Hey, Girls Over There!”
The girls were quite outgoing; far from being embarrassed, they joined in, singing mountain songs with the boys.
Instructor Xu watched the scene and couldn’t help but feel that these kids were truly young and full of vitality.
Chen Wei was currently staring at the pears on a tree not far away, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, ready to pick one.
Lu Jingcheng looked at the tree, then at him. “Can you do it?”
“Of course I can!” Chen Wei said, walking over and climbing the tree.
His movements were incredibly agile; in no time, he had reached the branch bearing the pears and shouted down to Lu Jingcheng, “I’ll throw it—you catch it.”
Lu Jingcheng: …
Lu Jingcheng wasn’t so sure he’d actually be able to catch it.
Seeing Lu Jingcheng’s hesitation, Ye Qingyang took off his military training uniform, had Lu Jingcheng hold two corners, and grabbed the other two himself. “Throw it.”
Chen Wei took aim, picked seven or eight pears, tossed them down, and climbed down from the tree himself.
Instructor Xu turned around and saw them. With a sigh of exasperation, he said, “I let you go up the mountain to play—I didn’t let you steal other people’s pears, did I?”
Chen Wei quickly handed the instructor a pear and said ingratiatingly, “Look how many have fallen under the tree. If we don’t eat them now, they’ll all be gone. Rather than letting them rot in the soil, it’s better to let them be digested in our stomachs.”
Instructor Xu chuckled. “You’ve got a point.”
“If I had money on me right now, I’d bury it under the tree—that’d count as buying them.”
Instructor Xu waved his hand. “No need for that. Go ahead and eat them. This tree’s planted right here, and no one’s watching. Even if you buried the money, no one would ever find it.”
Chen Wei finally felt at ease and shared the pears with his roommates.
When it came time to give one to Li Lan, he realized there was one short. Lu Jingcheng tossed the one in his hand to Li Lan. “You take it. Ye Qingyang and I will share one.”
Ye Qingyang nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Li Lan looked at the pear in his hand, hesitating slightly. “Um, aren’t we supposed to avoid splitting pears? They say it’s bad luck.”
Lu Jingcheng: “Huh?”
“Splitting a pear symbolizes separation.”
Lu Jingcheng: …
Lu Jingcheng lectured him, “For a high school student like you, how can you still believe in such superstitions?” ”
“I heard it from my mom.”
“You should be listening to your politics teacher now—feudal superstitions are out of the question.”
Li Lan had no choice but to wipe the pear and take a bite.
Ye Qingyang asked Lu Jingcheng, “Where’s your fruit knife? I’d like to borrow it.”
Lu Jingcheng: ……
Lu Jingcheng looked at him, but Li Lan’s words were still on his mind.
Although superstition is unacceptable, isn’t it true that you can’t be too careful?
What if this really does foreshadow a separation? If Ye Qingyang thought about it later, he’d probably cry himself to death.
Just the thought of Ye Qingyang’s tears—more abundant than the Atlantic Ocean—filled Lu Jingcheng with dread.
Better not. Let’s give this poor little thing a chance to live.
“I didn’t bring it,” Lu Jingcheng said.
Hearing this, Ye Qingyang raised an eyebrow at him. Why did he feel like that statement wasn’t credible?
Lu Jingcheng carried it with him every day, but for some reason, he hadn’t brought it today.
“You eat it yourself,” Lu Jingcheng said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I don’t even like pears anyway.”
After saying that, he added for credibility’s sake, “Otherwise, why would I have given it to Li Lan?”
Li Lan was shocked. “Wasn’t it because of classmate love?”
Lu Jingcheng replied cruelly, “Do you think I have that kind of thing?”
Li Lan clutched his heart in heartbreak. “That’s why they say emperors are heartless! Your Majesty, your servant feels so sorry for you!”
Ye Qingyang calmly wiped the pear with a piece of paper. “It’s fine. Emperors may be heartless, but humanity is full of compassion. As long as each of us contributes a little love, the world will become a beautiful place.”
Li Lan said, “Your Majesty is truly kind-hearted. Having you by his side is truly His Majesty’s good fortune!”
Ye Qingyang nodded without a trace of modesty. “Mm.”
Lu Jingcheng: …
Lu Jingcheng turned to look at Ye Qingyang. “Whose good fortune?”
Ye Qingyang smiled and coaxed, “Mine, mine.”
He handed the pear to Lu Jingcheng. “Your Majesty, have a bite of the pear.”
“I won’t eat it,” Lu Jingcheng refused.
Ye Qingyang brought the pear close to his lips. “Just take a bite.”
Just as Lu Jingcheng was about to refuse again, Ye Qingyang shoved it into his mouth the moment he opened his lips.
Lu Jingcheng had no choice but to take a bite.
Only then was Ye Qingyang satisfied. He pulled the pear back and asked, “Is it good?”
Lu Jingcheng clenched his teeth around the pear in his mouth. “It’s not good.”
Ye Qingyang grinned and took a bite right where Lu Jingcheng had bitten, the taste cool and sweet. “I think it’s pretty good.”
Lu Jingcheng: …
Lu Jingcheng stared at the pear in Ye Qingyang’s hand. Damn it, this…
Isn’t this basically an indirect kiss?!!
He’d wondered why Ye Qingyang was so insistent on making him take a bite—so that’s what it was all about!
He really does have ulterior motives!
He’s so calculating!
He’s so scheming!
He’s got a hidden agenda!
He’s actually scheming about a kiss—he’s way too bold!
Lu Jingcheng looked at him, his eyes filled with disbelief and disapproval.
Ye Qingyang met his gaze and thought to himself, Is it really that bad? It tasted pretty good to me—why does Lu Jingcheng look so disapproving?
“Want to try some more?” Ye Qingyang held out the pear again. “Maybe the piece you had just now wasn’t very good.”
Lu Jingcheng: !!!
Lu Jingcheng thought he was truly shameless!!
He actually wants a second round!
Isn’t one time enough to satisfy his ever-growing ambition?
And he actually dared to openly ask for a second helping!
Who does he think he is?!
Lu Jingcheng refused angrily, “I’m not eating it!”
He wasn’t going to let Ye Qingyang’s little schemes succeed!
“Eat it yourself then. Eat it all by yourself. Have as much as you want!”
Ye Qingyang: …
Ye Qingyang was at a loss for words, completely baffled as to why he seemed to be sulking again.
“You really won’t eat it? Just give it another try.”
Lu Jingcheng snorted and turned his head away.
Bai Le couldn’t bear to watch. “Could the two of you please behave yourselves? We’re in public—don’t be so lovey-dovey.”
Li Lan defended them, “It’s just that His Majesty and Her Majesty have a close bond.”
“You still need to be mindful of the setting.”
“We’re all free to do as we please right now—no one’s watching us.”
Bai Le snorted derisively, “It’s precisely because there are too many snobbish little eunuchs like you that previous dynasties fell one after another.”
“Nonsense. It’s clearly because those emperors weren’t wise enough. Otherwise, how could eunuchs have seized power?”
“So you should really shut up right now. Don’t you know our Emperor is a tyrant?”
“A tyrant should act like a tyrant!” Li Lan argued vehemently. “Otherwise, what kind of tyrant would he be?”
Bai Le: …
Bai Le glared at his childhood friend. “Can’t you show a little backbone? Does that even make sense?!”
“Why wouldn’t it make sense? I think he’s absolutely right. As for you, you’ve been doing sit-ups for so long—why haven’t you accepted this reality yet?”
Bai Le: “I’m doing this for your own good.”
Lu Jingcheng scoffed, “Do I need that?”
Bai Le: …
Ye Qingyang saw that Bai Le was about to be driven to his wits’ end by His Imperial Majesty again, so he stepped in to calm him down. “Minister Bai, don’t get so worked up. Have a bite of pear to cool your temper.”
Bai Le felt that his anger was unlikely to subside.
Ye Qingyang casually handed the pear in his hand to Lu Jingcheng. “You should have some too. It’ll cool you down.”
You’re the one who needs to cool down!
Lu Jingcheng looked at the pear in his hand and thought, He really is persistent.
To be this persistent in trying to get a second indirect kiss with him—he really does have a fiery temper!
Does he think that by trying so hard, I’ll just give in to him?
Lu Jingcheng snorted inwardly, but before he could continue his rant, Ye Qingyang pressed the pear against his lips.
“Hurry up!”
Lu Jingcheng: …
Lu Jingcheng opened his mouth and took a bite.
Fine, he’d give Ye Qingyang some face—after all, Li Lan and the others were watching.
A beloved consort deserves to be treated like one!
Otherwise, wouldn’t he be wasting the “tyrannical emperor” persona?
With that thought, Lu Jingcheng took another bite.
Bai Le: …Who just said they wouldn’t eat it?! Doesn’t your face hurt?!
Bai Le figured it probably didn’t hurt. He was starting to suspect his childhood friend had the emperor’s new face—Schrödinger’s face!
—Who the hell knows if he even has a face!
Bai Le took an angry bite of the pear in his hand, but it didn’t cool him down one bit.
Ye Qingyang saw that Lu Jingcheng wasn’t sulking anymore, so he took the pear back, even feeling a bit tempted to ruffle his hair.
But there were too many people around right now; he didn’t dare.
Once he and Lu Jingcheng moved into the dorm, he’d probably have a chance to do that.
Thinking of this, Ye Qingyang actually began to look forward to living on campus.
Instructor Xu saw that it was about time, so he led them down the mountain and headed back.
They returned to the training base just in time for dinner.
After Ye Qingyang and Lu Jingcheng finished eating and rested for a while, they began their evening training.
Perhaps considering how exhausting the hike had been, Instructor Xu led them through a few rounds of military calisthenics before having them sit down and teaching them to sing military songs.
Coincidentally, the 3rd Company next door was also practicing military songs, and upon hearing them, their voices grew much louder.
Seeing this, the 3rd Company commander suggested that the two platoons hold a friendly competition.
Instructor Xu had no objections, and the students from the two platoons immediately began competing for the title of “Singing King,” trading verses back and forth for quite some time.
By the end of the competition, everyone’s enthusiasm for singing hadn’t waned.
Instructor Xu smiled and asked, “Does anyone want to show off their talents and sing a song for their classmates?”
Several outgoing students who loved karaoke immediately raised their hands and began singing right there on the spot.
Instructor Xu waited for a while but didn’t see his favorite student raise his hand, so he singled him out, “Where’s the class president? Why so quiet? Come on, sing a song for me.”
Ye Qingyang had never been one to shy away from the spotlight, so even when called out, he didn’t flinch.
He looked at the person in front of him, saw the smile on Instructor Xu’s face, and noticed the anticipation in the eyes of his classmates.
Ye Qingyang thought for a moment, then sang “Goodbye.”
The song was catchy, and most of the class knew it, so they joined in.
Everyone’s faces were beaming with smiles.
Lu Jingcheng, sitting next to Ye Qingyang, noticed something: Ye Qingyang’s smile was so faint it was almost invisible.
He didn’t seem as happy as the rest of the class.
Lu Jingcheng pondered for a moment. Realizing that military training was about to end, he assumed Ye Qingyang was reluctant to let go of this atmosphere, so he reached out and took Ye Qingyang’s hand.
Ye Qingyang was a little surprised. He finished singing the song before turning to look at him.
Lu Jingcheng whispered reassuringly, “It’s okay. Even after military training ends, we’ll still be in the same class. As for Instructor Xu, he’ll always remember you.”
Ye Qingyang froze for a moment.
He thought he had hidden his emotions well, but he hadn’t expected Lu Jingcheng to notice.
It wasn’t that he was sad because military training was about to end; what made him sad was the world he was leaving behind.
It was the suddenness of his departure—he hadn’t had time to say goodbye to his parents and younger sister.
—I’m afraid I won’t have the chance
to say goodbye to you.
Because maybe I’ll never see you again.
Tomorrow I’m leaving.
The familiar places and you
are about to part ways.
And my tears fall.
I’ll hold your face close in my memory;
I’ll cherish the memories you’ve given me;
These days in my heart
Will never be erased;
I can’t promise you
Whether I’ll ever return;
I won’t look back;
I’ll walk on without looking back
He looked at Lu Jingcheng, smiled gently, nodded, and softly murmured, “Mm.”
Lu Jingcheng was still holding his hand, and he could feel the warmth radiating from Lu Jingcheng’s palm.
It was a real, deeply comforting warmth.
In that moment, Ye Qingyang bid farewell to the past—with a sense of regret, yet filled with hope.
He had never been a timid or hesitant person. No matter where he was or what he faced, he would walk forward with confidence, never looking back.
Leaving his family was indeed heartbreaking, but fortunately, this world was not without people worth cherishing.
The autumn night was heavy with dew, and the sky was thick with stars. Ye Qingyang looked up, his eyes filled with starlight.