Chapter 19

Although things had gotten unpleasant, the atmosphere gradually eased once everyone boarded the bus.

After all, they were a group of teenagers, and they were at an age when they were full of energy. They were also in the high-pressure environment of high school, so just the thought of an outdoor activity was enough to make them excited and eager.

The bus ride to Mount Nanshan took about an hour and a half.

The passengers joked and horsed around. Some listened to music, while others chatted animatedly.

Not long after getting on, Qi Lin, who was sitting behind Chen Mo, leaned over the back of his seat and patted him. “Don’t take it to heart. It wasn’t very pleasant for you to have that happen on your first visit. I should’ve given everyone a heads-up in the group chat beforehand.”

Chen Mo turned around. “I changed my mind at the last minute. You can’t be blamed for that.”

“Then make sure you have a good time today.” Qi Lin knew he’d been admitted to the hospital last night. “I’ve counted. At least half the people today think it’s too hot to ride. There’s a newly built outdoor swimming pool at the summit, and we’re having a barbecue tonight. Just treat this as a chance to relax.”

Chen Mo asked, “Are you starting from halfway up the mountain?”

“Yeah.” Qi Lin nodded.

At that moment, the person beside Qi Lin, who had originally been looking down at his phone, raised his head. His brows furrowed slightly. “You want to ride?”

Chen Mo shook his head. “I’m not riding.”

Xi Siyan stared at him for a moment. “You’d better not.”

Chen Mo really hadn’t ridden a bicycle.

However, not long after those who planned to ride had changed into their gear at the temporary starting point halfway up the mountain and set off, they were already panting and struggling along when they heard the distinctive sputtering sound of an underpowered electric scooter coming from behind.

By then, the people taking the bus up the mountain had long since left.

And the person who should have been on that bus was now straddling an electric scooter. He wore a light blue helmet, and the wind billowed his white outer shirt. As he rounded a bend, he easily planted his long leg on the ground to lean the scooter through the turn.

The group hadn’t spread out much yet. They were still more or less within sight of one another.

A few people recognized him.

“Fuck! Young Master Mo, what the hell are you doing? Trying to make us jealous?”

“I’m jealous. That looks so much cooler. I want to ride one too.”

“How the hell did you even come up with this genius idea?”

The little electric scooter didn’t respond. It slowly overtook the others, and after going just a little farther, a song began playing from it.

Riding my beloved little scooter

I’ll never get stuck in traffic

Riding my beloved little scooter

I’ll be home in no time

…

The group behind him: “…”

“……………”

“Brothers, get him!”

Having single-handedly drawn everyone’s ire, he inspired the group to finish the first half of the route in a time they would never have managed under ordinary circumstances. They were cursing him while finding the whole thing hilarious.

During a break, someone looked up and down the road.

“Where’s Chen Mo? Did he fall behind or get ahead?”

Someone answered, “He must’ve gone ahead. No matter how you look at it, his two wheels are faster than our two wheels. And this is an uphill climb! He doesn’t even have to exert himself.”

“I’m more concerned about whether his scooter’s battery will last until the summit.”

“If it doesn’t, that’ll be hilarious.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Get moving! It’s our turn to catch up and make fun of him.”

…

Their enthusiasm remained undiminished. Meanwhile, Chen Mo, whose scooter had been suspected of running out of power, really did discover that its battery was almost dead when he was nearing the summit.

Mount Nanshan hadn’t been fully developed yet that year. Standing at the summit, one could occasionally see houses below, hidden among the mountains and forests. The winding mountain road coiled around the slopes like a giant dragon, giving the place a rugged, perilous appearance.

And on that rugged road, someone was slowly pushing an electric scooter along.

He hadn’t gone very far when a red-and-black bicycle rolled up from behind, coming to an abrupt stop with the distinctive squeal of its brakes.

“Out of battery?” Xi Siyan asked, one foot planted on the ground as he lifted his sunglasses and looked at him.

With the setting sun behind the summit, the person before him was outlined in a halo of light, making his features appear even more sharply defined. Chen Mo was quite certain that he had been the one riding at the very front of the group.

Chen Mo glanced at the electric scooter and nodded. “Yeah. It’s almost dead.”

Xi Siyan looked toward the summit. “Can you push it all the way up?”

Chen Mo lifted his chin toward the road ahead. “What, if I say I can’t, are you planning to do it for me?”

By the time the group behind them caught up, they discovered that the electric scooter really had run out of battery.

But the person pushing it wasn’t Chen Mo.

He had switched to a familiar-looking bicycle, while the club president, who always came in first in competitions, was pushing the little electric scooter that looked completely out of place in his hands.

Everyone immediately started teasing him.

“Brother Yan, what’s going on? You’re out here doing good deeds. Now we don’t even know where to direct our mockery!”

“I vaguely remember that the year I broke my leg, Brother Yan, do you remember what you said to me?”

Xi Siyuan didn’t care that the group of people who used to charge up here like wild dogs were now getting out of their cars one after another and starting to walk.

Pei He asked, “What did he say?”

“He said, ‘I’ve emphasized the precautions so many times. Didn’t you hear me? Are you deaf?!'”

A chorus of sighs followed.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“The past is too painful to look back on. Those without a heart cannot be kept.”

“The former driving king of Nanshan has ultimately been lured away by some wild man from outside.”

“Yeah, and that wild man is someone who rides a little electric scooter.”

Xi Siyuan kicked them one by one.

“You’re all pretty good with your mouths, aren’t you?”

Chen Mo, the wild man in question, had watched enough of the commotion from the side. He raised his hand and explained, “Want to know what he said when he found out I was going to push my little electric scooter?”

The others curiously asked him to tell them.

Chen Mo repeated every word without missing a single one:

“When you’re mocking other people, aren’t you quite capable? Does Nanshan purify the soul or nourish the body? Why are you so eager to come here just to get scolded?”

The others burst into laughter.

One after another, they teased him.

“Old Xi, that’s not right. How can you treat a sick person like that? Everyone saw last night’s video. Young Master Mo’s waist is so slim that it’s thinner than a sheet of paper. So many girls are jealous of it. You’d better be a little nicer to him, understand?”

“Exactly. Since you’re so good at talking, you should say a little more.”

“Chen Mo, ride it back and let me scold you a couple more times.”

…

No one had expected that the last few hundred meters of today’s group ride would end up being covered on foot.

There were quite a few guesthouses around the mountaintop. It was a small vacation village, though it had yet to develop into anything particularly large.

When the group of sweaty men finally arrived at their destination, they all rushed toward the accommodations they had booked in advance, eager to wash off the sweat and grime.

The guesthouses had a rather distinctive design.

All the rooms were on the second floor.

Naturally, Chen Mo shared a room with Old Gou.

After receiving his assigned key, Chen Mo went into the room and changed his clothes. It was nearly half an hour later before the late-arriving Gou Yiyang finally showed up.

As soon as Old Gou opened the door, he collapsed onto the bed.

“That tired?” Chen Mo asked while drying his hair.

Gou Yiyang turned his head and opened one eye to look at him.

“Of course. You’re someone who rents a crappy electric scooter. How would you know how exhausting it is to ride a motorcycle all the way up here? If there’d been another two hundred meters, I would’ve definitely gone to see my grandpa. Oh, my grandpa’s been dead for ten years.”

Chen Mo found that amusing.

“You didn’t need to emphasize the last part.”

Chen Mo took out a change of clothes for him from his bag.

“Rest for a while, then go take a shower.”

Gou Yiyang struggled up from the bed and sat on its edge.

“What?” Chen Mo asked, continuing to dry his hair.

Gou Yiyang stared at him mysteriously.

“I heard quite a bit of nonsense today. Want to know what it was?”

“No.” Chen Mo refused.

Gou Yiyang immediately grabbed him.

“Are we brothers or not? Just answer me, are we brothers? If I don’t get this question cleared up with you today, I definitely won’t be able to sleep tonight.”

Chen Mo was held back by him.

“Go on.”

“Do you like Xi Siyuan?”

Chen Mo’s hand stopped moving. He looked at him as if he were asking what kind of nonsense that was.

“What made you come to such a bizarre conclusion? Your shrunken cerebellum?”

“Damn! I knew it was impossible!”

Gou Yiyang slammed a fist onto the bed.

“Today, it was just us people who got left behind at the back. Those guys had such filthy mouths. They practically said that the reason you and Yang Shule had fought to this point wasn’t just because of your relationship, but also because you two were rivals in love and liked the same person. It scared the hell out of me.”

Chen Mo casually draped the towel over a chair in the room.

“And you actually believed that kind of bullshit?”

Old Gou rubbed his short-cropped hair and muttered, “Who knew you’d come out just like that? Although everyone there that night was a friend and wouldn’t go around spreading rumors, you should understand that there’s absolutely no way to keep something like this a secret, right?”

Chen Mo looked at him.

“I’m gay, sure. But does that mean I have to find a guy to like?”

“If you don’t try, how would you know you really like men?”

Chen Mo replied, “I can’t get hard with the opposite sex. Is that reason convincing enough?”

Gou Yiyang was instantly petrified.

He stammered “Y-you…” for quite a while, his own face turning bright red from embarrassment.

Although seventeen or eighteen was the age when hormones were raging, the most they did was hide some porn comics in their desks or gather with other boys to watch relatively tame porn videos. Who casually put something like that into words as if it were perfectly normal?

He made himself sound like someone who was practically asexual.

Even after coming out of the bathroom, Gou Yiyang was still mulling over the matter.

When he emerged, Chen Mo was lying on the bed. Gou Yiyang’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward his lower body.

The person lying half-reclined with his legs crossed and his phone in hand seemed to have eyes growing out of the top of his head.

“Look again, and I’ll dig your eyeballs out.”

“Damn,” Gou Yiyang said. “I’ll never be able to look at you normally again.”

The person who claimed he could no longer look at Chen Mo normally…

When several girls came over together to knock on their door and ask whether they wanted to go to the Cloudtop Terrace to watch the sunset, Gou Yiyang instinctively planted himself in the doorway, blocking their view.

He hadn’t forgotten that the person sleeping on the other bed was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.

No matter what, he had to protect his brother’s dignity in front of the opposite sex.

“Are you going?” one of the girls asked, standing on tiptoe to peer inside.

Relying on his broad build to block their view completely, Gou Yiyang turned around and asked the person who had just woken up, “They’re asking you, Mo Mo. Are you going?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a pillow landed on his head.

“If you know how to speak properly, then I’ll go.”

Gou Yiyang cursed under his breath.

The two girls standing in front of him covered their mouths and giggled.

Nanshan had a specially designated observation deck for watching the sunset. By the time they arrived, quite a few people were already there.

Sun Xiaoya was handing her phone to Xi Siyuan and asking him to take some pictures.

Xi Siyuan leaned against the corner of the railing and didn’t refuse.

He fiddled with the phone for a while, adjusted the angle, took several pictures, and handed it back to her.

Several girls gathered their heads together, excitedly commenting, “I told you he was good at taking pictures. His shots almost never turn out badly.”

As they scrolled through the photos, one of them suddenly let out a surprised sound.

“Hey, Xiaoya, why do you still have pictures of Chen Mo on your phone?”

Only then did Sun Xiaoya remember that she had casually saved the photo Xi Siyuan had sent her earlier.

Looking at it again now, the boy was lying on a hospital bed late at night, seemingly lost in thought. His face was pale and delicate, revealing a fragile vulnerability brought on by illness. Even the IV stand beside him seemed to complement the scene perfectly, making one’s heart tighten just looking at it.

It gave people the feeling of: Even though he’s sick, damn, he’s really good-looking!

It also made him seem like someone who would be very easy to bully.

The girls couldn’t help letting out all sorts of surprised exclamations as they looked at the picture. Then, when they looked up again, they discovered that the person in the photo had also come up to the observation deck.

Unfortunately, the sickly air about him was gone. In its place was a pair of lazy eyes as he gazed at the setting sun.

He leaned against the railing, casually chatting with the people around him, like a cat about to go into hibernation.

That is, as long as nobody came over to disturb him.

——

“Disgusting faggot.”

When those words rang out, Gou Yiyang, who was still standing beside Chen Mo, could guarantee that everyone around them had heard them.

Gou Yiyang thought, Shit. It’s over.

The situation he had been most worried about had finally happened.

Although society nowadays was relatively accepting of homosexuality, there were always some extreme homophobes who liked to slap all kinds of labels onto people attracted to the same sex. Things like sissy or neither man nor woman.

Of course, anyone with eyes couldn’t possibly associate Chen Mo with those descriptions. But what could they do? He had publicly admitted his sexuality.

Ironically, the person who had just shouted those insults was one of the people Yang Shule had brought into the club.

The boy was somewhat thin, with buck teeth. His eyes habitually darted away slightly whenever he looked at someone.

Someone who looked so timid and introverted would never have seemed like the type to say something like this. Yet after learning that Chen Mo had publicly admitted to being gay, he had jumped out and said those words.

Someone nearby muttered, “Isn’t that guy from Class Six?”

“I remember the school even organized a donation drive for him because his family was poor. Yang Shule was the only one willing to bring him along, and even let him join the club’s activities.”

“I never thought he was like this. Didn’t expect him to be so crazy.”

“But who exactly is he referring to when he says gay?”

All kinds of voices came from the surrounding crowd. The buck-toothed boy raised his eyes again, pointing directly at Chen Mo.

“Are you afraid to admit it now?”

Chen Mo chuckled.

The wind at the mountaintop gently lifted his hair.

He remained leaning against the railing without moving.

“What do I have to be afraid of admitting?”

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

This was different from the last time he had said it. Back then, they had been in an enclosed space, and other matters had diverted most people’s attention. But now, besides the people participating in their group activity, there were also scattered tourists around them.

Once he admitted it, the news would spread through every corner of No. 1 High School at an unimaginable speed.

“Good! As long as you admit it!” The boy’s voice was initially somewhat timid, but the more he spoke, the more agitated he became. “As a homosexual, you don’t know how to keep yourself in check and even go around announcing it everywhere. Someone like you, someone like you…”

“What’s wrong with someone like me? Go on.”

Under the various gazes surrounding him, Chen Mo’s expression remained unchanged. He looked as though he was practically inviting the boy to say whatever he wanted.

The boy seemed to have been intimidated. He couldn’t manage to squeeze out another word for quite some time.

Chen Mo finally pushed himself away from the railing and stood up.

“You’re right.”

“I’m gay.”

Chen Mo began walking toward him, one step at a time.

He wore a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. Those who had seen him fight before were already getting nervous.

One after another, they tried to intervene.

“Young Master Mo, forget it, forget it.”

“Who knows what got into this guy today? Normally, you couldn’t get a single fart out of him even if you beat him with a stick.”

“He’s probably not right in the head. Don’t stoop to his level.”

By the time those words reached Chen Mo’s ears on the wind, he had already walked up to the boy.

Everyone was on guard, ready to rush forward and drag him away the moment he made a move.

In fact, the moment Chen Mo stood in front of the boy, the boy’s face had already turned completely pale.

“Hate homosexuals, do you?”

“Since you hate them so much, why are you so eager to seek attention? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll keep staring at you with a disgustingly lustful gaze from now on?”

“Have you ever seen what a real homosexual is like? They get together with someone of the same sex, someone with the same sexual organs. They might embrace, kiss, and then have sex, and there’s also…”

Chen Mo’s voice was very low.

The wind on the observation deck was strong, too.

Nobody could hear exactly what he was saying.

All they knew was that with every sentence, he took another step forward, forcing the boy in front of him to retreat again and again.

Until he had driven him all the way to the railing.

Under the boy’s increasingly desperate gaze, Chen Mo whispered like a demon tempting someone into sin:

“Give the other person a blowjob.”

“Y-you’re insane!”

Everyone only heard the boy let out a distressed cry before shoving Chen Mo aside and running off the observation deck.

Meanwhile, the person who had been so indifferent even when admitting his own sexuality was now gripping the railing with one hand, laughing freely and happily.

Everyone else: Well… we were just curious about what exactly he said.

Only Gou Yiyang, who had already suffered a shock earlier, could guess that there was absolutely nothing decent coming out of Chen Mo’s mouth.

Someone stepped forward, wanting to ask what had happened.

But then they noticed that Xi Siyuan, who had been standing closest to the two of them just moments ago, had finally moved.

He didn’t do anything in particular.

He simply walked over to the person who was laughing and asked, “Feeling better now?”

“Wasn’t I always in a good mood? Someone was practically handing me entertainment on a silver platter.”

Chen Mo turned his head and realized it was him.

“What? Did you hear what I said?”

“You looked like you were having a good time. I didn’t dare interrupt.”

“Wasn’t it because the content was too obscene and would have polluted your ears, Your Highness?”

“Looks like you’re not completely unaware of your own behavior after all.”

Xi Siyuan’s gaze was difficult to read. In the end, he let out a soft scoff.

“Such a filthy mouth.”

Originally, this should have been quite a sensational scandal.

For example:

《The School Bully Is Actually Gay!》

《The Hidden Sexual Orientation of a Wealthy Young Master》

Or perhaps:

《The New Generation’s Sexual Orientation Is a Mystery. Where Has Society’s Hope Gone?》

But in the end, it turned into nothing more than:

——An Analysis of How the School Bully Managed to Drive Someone Insane Using Nothing but His Mouth.

This curiosity continued well into the evening.

On the grassy lawn at the mountaintop, the boys skillfully brought out the barbecue grills, while the girls borrowed various ingredients from the guesthouse that still needed to be prepared.

Everyone was busy with their assigned tasks, and the atmosphere was lively.

Of course, that excluded one small group of people.

The boy who had been frightened away by Chen Mo at the observation deck refused to say what Chen Mo had actually told him, no matter how many times others asked.

Yang Shule and several others were sitting with the boy on the lawn not far away.

It was unclear whether they were trying to comfort him or persuade him.

“Was he really that scared?” Gou Yiyang asked, carrying a very low folding stool as he squatted down beside Chen Mo.

Meanwhile, the person who had absolutely no conscience was lying on a folding lounge chair. In his hand was an elementary school math workbook that he had somehow dug out of some forgotten corner of the guesthouse. He was using it as a fan.

Hearing the question, he casually glanced toward the group in the distance.

“If a few words like that were enough to scare him, I’d be worried that his family isn’t just poor. He might actually be a caveman.”

Gou Yiyang complained, “Your mouth really is vicious.”

“Then don’t eat.”

Chen Mo pretended to take away the barbecue plate in front of him.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t!” Gou Yiyang hurriedly reached for it. “Besides, you can’t even eat this stuff. What’s the point of snatching it away?”

Chen Mo refused to let go and leaned backward to dodge him.

“Hey!”

Amid Gou Yiyang’s startled cry, Chen Mo’s stool was about to tip backward.

Qi Lin happened to be passing by. He used his knee to prop it up for him and conveniently placed a covered soup bowl in front of Chen Mo.

“Here, your sick person’s meal. No need to thank me.”

Chen Mo turned around. “Where did this come from?”

“Don’t look at me. It wasn’t my idea.” Qi Lin gestured to the left. “Old Xi asked the guesthouse owner to make it for you. Longan, red date, and Chinese yam soup. He told me to remind you not to eat the barbecue. Show some respect for your fragile stomach.”

Chen Mo looked in that direction.

Xi Siyuan seemed to always wear sportswear whenever he came out.

At the moment, he was standing in front of the barbecue grill, cooking. Judging from his practiced movements, he seemed quite capable.

Just then, someone called out to him.

“Brother Yan! You’re pretty damn good at this! You could definitely make a living running a barbecue stall!”

Xi Siyuan was sprinkling seasoning over the food. Hearing this, he laughed and cursed, “Now that’s quite a compliment.”

Chen Mo picked up the soup bowl and leisurely walked over.

He stopped in front of the barbecue stall.

During a brief pause, Xi Siyuan looked up.

“Craving some?”

“I came over to thank you.” Chen Mo raised the soup bowl slightly.

Xi Siyuan noticed what he was holding and nodded.

“How does it taste? I’ve known the lady who runs this guesthouse for a long time. Her cooking is pretty decent.”

“Pretty good,” Chen Mo said. “It suits me.”

Xi Siyuan chuckled.

“I can hear the resentment in your voice. Who else can you blame?”

After saying this, Xi Siyuan seemed to remember something. His smile faded a little as he reminded him, “Don’t stand there. The smoke is blowing straight onto you.”

Chen Mo obediently moved a little to the side. He simply stood there watching him grill, occasionally listening to the people who came over to take food exchange a few playful remarks with Xi Siyuan.

Chen Mo liked tonight’s scenery.

The breeze was gentle, the stars overhead were bright, and only half of the moon was visible.

He took one sip after another, and before he knew it, the soup bowl was empty.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a voice behind him.

“Brother Yan.”

Yang Shule, who had originally been some distance away, had somehow come over.

Xi Siyuan raised his eyes, his brows drawing together slightly.

“Something wrong?”

“Over there.” Yang Shule pointed toward the boy who was still sitting on the ground, then glanced back at Chen Mo standing nearby. His words seemed to carry an underlying meaning.

“Aqi isn’t doing well at all. You know his personality has always been sensitive because of his family situation. When you agreed to let him join the club back then, you also wanted to help him. But now he won’t talk or eat anything. I really don’t know what to do.”

Xi Siyuan’s hands paused. He looked up at Yang Shule.

“He deliberately targeted someone for no reason this evening. You don’t know why?”

Yang Shule froze, looking bewildered.

“I don’t know, Brother Yan. Why are you asking me that?”

Xi Siyuan didn’t say anything. He simply nodded.

“Bring him over.”

Before leaving, Yang Shule stared directly at Chen Mo for several seconds. Not long afterward, the boy they called Aqi was brought over.

This spot was already near the center of the gathering.

Quite a few people were now looking over, unsure why the atmosphere had suddenly become strange.

Xi Siyuan handed the task in his hands over to two other boys, then walked to the table nearby and took out a packet of wet wipes. While wiping his hands, he turned toward the boy who had his head lowered.

Xi Siyuan said, “Lift your head.”

Chen Mo could see clearly from the side that the boy called Aqi was crying again.

His eyes were swollen like walnuts, and his nose was red too.

Xi Siyuan pointed at Chen Mo, who was standing beside them holding an already-empty soup bowl and looking somewhat bewildered.

He asked Aqi, “I won’t ask you anything else. I’ll just ask you one question. Do you really hate him that much? Just because he said a few things to you, you became so frightened that you couldn’t eat or even speak?”

The boy called Aqi secretly glanced at Chen Mo before quickly looking away again.

His voice was dry and hoarse.

“No.”

“Aqi.” Yang Shule suddenly spoke up.

By this point, everyone was beginning to sense that something was wrong.

Xi Siyuan, however, remained calm.

He looked at Aqi. “Go on.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it.”

Nobody had expected him to suddenly break down.

The boy began crying and squatted down on the ground, clutching his hair.

“It was just a moment of impulsiveness on my part. Back then, Student Yang Shule was the one who brought me into the club. I was really envious of how you guys were always laughing and chatting together, having such a good time. Today, while we were on the road, I saw that Student Yang wasn’t in a good mood. I heard him say that Chen Mo was gay. If this matter got blown up, Chen Mo wouldn’t be able to stay at school anymore. I… I… I just…”

The boy stammered his way through the explanation. His crying sounded rather pitiful.

Yang Shule noticed the seemingly subtle gazes directed at him from those around them. His expression changed.

“Aqi! Why are you dragging me into this? You’re the one who did it!”

“I’m sorry.”

The boy sniffled and slowly stood up from the ground. Lowering his head, he spoke timidly.

“I’m really sorry. I thought you hated him, so I…”

He hesitated before continuing.

“Could you ask your parents not to withdraw my financial aid scholarship?”

Yang Shule staggered backward in anger.

At first, he was in disbelief. Then, somewhat panicked, he looked at Xi Siyuan’s expression.

Just as expected.

“Your Yang family’s financial aid scholarship?” Xi Siyuan curled the corners of his mouth. “Is that what you told him?”

Yang Shule grew flustered and hurriedly explained, “This is a misunderstanding, Brother Yan. I…”

“Enough.”

Xi Siyuan tossed the wet tissue he had crumpled in his hand into the trash bag beside him.

“You used ambiguous words to lead someone else on, and you did it right under my nose. Now you still want to wash your hands of the whole thing.”

Xi Siyuan’s tone wasn’t particularly harsh, but everyone present felt a chill run through them.

He looked at Yang Shule and the other boy.

“The financial aid scholarship won’t be revoked. But starting today, both of you are expelled from the club. Don’t let me see either of you at any future activities.”

His words were like a drop of cold water falling into a pan of boiling oil, setting off a chain reaction of crackling explosions that made everyone’s skin sting.

All around them were sounds of people sucking in their breaths.

Xi Siyuan had delivered his verdict just like that, swiftly bringing the matter to an end.

——

Later that night, the group went swimming in the outdoor pool for half an hour.

Chen Mo didn’t get into the water.

Wrapped in a bath towel, he sat by the pool and instructed several people who couldn’t swim. Instead, he ended up getting splashed by a whole group of people for no reason, leaving him completely soaked from head to toe.

“I’m so damn satisfied.”

On the way back to their room, Old Gou was still excitedly talking to Chen Mo about what had happened an hour earlier.

“I actually thought that guy from Class Six was some kind of extreme homophobe. Who would’ve thought? Who would’ve thought Yang Shule would get what he deserved too!”

They were the last ones to return. The guesthouse had already quieted down.

Gou Yiyang continued to sigh with emotion.

“Well, now it’s settled. You two are officially love rivals.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Chen Mo asked, pulling his hand away as they walked.

As they climbed the wooden stairs, Gou Yiyang grabbed the hem of his shirt, using it to drag along his two legs, which were as limp as noodles after swimming.

“I’m telling you, you really don’t appreciate other people’s good intentions. Who do you think Xi Siyuan did all that for?”

Chen Mo stopped.

“Wasn’t he already planning to clean house from the beginning?”

Chen Mo thought to himself that this was someone who had once explicitly asked him, ‘Who told you I like men?’

If he knew that someone who liked him was constantly hanging around him, perhaps he had wanted to kick that person out long ago.

So Chen Mo occasionally found himself wondering:

In his previous life, Yang Shule had repeatedly and enthusiastically called him “Brother Yan” at the Yang family’s dinner table. Had it really all been wishful thinking on his part?

Chen Mo couldn’t be bothered to think about it any longer, nor did he want to continue this idle conversation with Old Gou.

He turned and headed upstairs.

To reach their room, they had to pass the corner of the second-floor corridor.

They had only walked a few steps when they heard voices coming from around the corner ahead.

Yang Shule was sobbing.

The person standing in front of him was leaning against the wooden railing in the corridor. He raised his head and met Chen Mo’s gaze.

Yang Shule hadn’t noticed the two of them.

He continued, “Brother Yan, I really didn’t mean to do it. Yesterday, Sun Xiaoya and the others said those things about me, and today they even sided with Chen Mo. I just acted on impulse. But I really didn’t tell Aqi to say those things.”

“I admit that I don’t like him. I don’t want to be in the same school as him. I know I have no right to say these things, but what exactly have I done wrong? I’ve always treated his parents as if they were my own. Why am I the one who has to suffer through all of this?”

“Even you…” As Yang Shule spoke, he stubbornly raised his head and looked at the person in front of him. “He’s been getting all the attention lately, and you keep helping him at every turn. Why?”

Xi Siyuan shifted his gaze back to the person standing in front of him.

His voice was cold and indifferent.

“If you had even the slightest ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, you wouldn’t be asking such a question. I don’t take anyone’s side. If you disagree with the way this matter was handled, report it to the school.”

Xi Siyuan stood up to leave.

“I like you!”

All four people present froze.

After cursing out a loud “Holy shit,” Gou Yiyang actually lost his footing and knocked the basin in his hand against the wall.

Yang Shule finally noticed that two other people were standing behind him.

He turned and stared at Chen Mo. It was unclear what was going through his mind. Then he looked back at Xi Siyuan.

“I like you.”

“I’ve liked you for a long time.”

“I never dared to say it before. I always secretly followed behind you. I know that the person I am now isn’t even as good as the person I used to be, but I still want to tell you. I like you. I like you very, very much. So much that whenever anyone appears beside you, I get so jealous I feel like I’m going insane.”

Gou Yiyang was clearly even closer to going insane.

He gritted his teeth and muttered, “My secondhand embarrassment problem is acting up again. Can someone save me? Can we please just leave first?”

Chen Mo, on the other hand, remained calm.

He was already used to seeing things like this.

Still, he spoke up.

“Excuse me. Coming through.”

Just as he was about to walk past, Yang Shule suddenly grabbed him.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Mo asked, looking at the hand gripping his arm.

Yang Shule stared intently at him.

“Chen Mo, you openly came out as gay. Does that mean you already have someone you like?”

Gou Yiyang frowned beside him.

“Yang Shule, have you lost your mind from all this? Can you stop acting crazy?”

Yang Shule seemed determined to get an answer.

“Then answer me.”

“You want an answer?” Chen Mo said slowly. “I’ve thought about it carefully. The reason I don’t hold it against you is that you’re simply too immature. I also have no particular interest in competing with someone over who comes out first. Who I like or don’t like has anything to do with you? Oh, actually, there’s one thing. Someone like you isn’t someone I’d ever be interested in.”

“Chen Mo!”

Yang Shule’s face turned bright red with humiliation.

At that moment, Xi Siyuan spoke.

“Let go.”

Only Chen Mo was being held. Yang Shule immediately released him as if he had been burned.

Xi Siyuan didn’t rush to deal with the situation in front of him. His gaze swept over Chen Mo, and his brows furrowed slightly.

“Went swimming?”

At that moment, Chen Mo was wearing only a thin shirt.

The white towel draped over his shoulders couldn’t conceal the nearly transparent fabric clinging to his waist. Standing beneath the corridor, the contours of his tall, lean frame were almost entirely visible.

Unfortunately, the owner of that body seemed completely unaware of it.