T/N: Happy new year everyone ✨❤️
The lunch break at First High was nearly an hour.
After eating, the overactive alphas headed out to the athletic field to kick a ball around, with a surrounding circle of betas and omegas to cheer them on, the noise from which could be clearly heard all the way over to the academic building.
After Jiang Yao finished his unappetizing lunch, he went off to the school shop to buy some snacks, wandering aimlessly around the campus on his way there to familiarize himself with the new environment.
The perimeter wall of First High was much shorter than Eighth High’s. Probably because they hadn’t been inflicted with many “bad students” like him who would climb over the wall. It was somewhat grown-over with creeping vines.
Jiang Yao thought to himself that such an opportunity should not be squandered. Some night, he could head out for a midnight snack, since there were plenty of small restaurants on the back street behind the school which were definitely higher quality than the dining hall.
After turning a corner, he found a small grove, which was pretty much the staple of any school grounds. Jiang Yao used to go into the grove at Eighth High, usually because he was called there by someone for a confession. It had happened at least a dozen times.
“……this is what I made……”
A faint voice came from within the grove.
Did I happen to run across the scene of a confession?
He had always held the leading role in such a scene, so being a passerby for the first time was quite the novel experience. He approached the grove.
The lush Metasequoia trees were neatly arranged to form a natural wall. Through the gaps between the leaves, he could roughly make out the scene inside.
“It was made crudely, so wait until next year…… Next year, I’ll try to make something better for you.” The speaker lifted the large bag in his hand, showing the person opposite him the contents, and smiled shallowly, “You like it?”
Jiang Yao let out a “wow” in his heart.
This little brat, turns out he also has someone he likes.
Yin Che was facing his direction, but didn’t seem to notice him. His eyes were focused on the person before him and there was a trace of obvious nervous tension in his smile.
He could only see the back of the other person. It was a male student. He was tall and seemed like an alpha. His hands were in his pockets, as if he had no intention of taking the bag.
He just lowered his head and looked into the bag, “It really is pretty crude. For my birthday, you’re just giving me this thing?”
Yin Che’s smile dimmed, “I remembered you liked building houses when you were a kid, so I made one on my own. It’s definitely not as good as a purchased one. But if you don’t like it, I can go buy—”
“No need, I don’t want it.” The student scoffed, “Do you know what birthday gift I want the most?”
“What? Just say it and I’ll try my best.”
“I want you to move out. Just catching sight of you makes me feel annoyed.”
Yin Che blinked in surprise, “But, I’m already staying in the dorm.”
“Don’t you still go home on the weekends? Don’t I still have to see you at school? Hovering around in front of my eyes every day. Are you afraid other people won’t realize I have an older brother like you?”
Yin Che bit his lip and pulled the bag back. His eyes became bloodshot and he fell silent for a while before asking, “Then what do you want me to do?”
The boy snorted, “What, unhappy over those few words? Ge, did you really think that if you made me a broken house, you could make it up to me? That I would be grateful and forgive you?”
“I didn’t think anything like that.”
“That is what you thought. ‘Next year’, what next year? Your promises are bullshit to me, don’t be so insincere. From now on, I ask that you stay away from me at school, I thank you in advance.”
After the student turned to walk away, Jiang Yao fell back a few steps, pretending to be just now passing by, so he was able to see the other’s face clearly.
It was about fifty to sixty percent similar to Yin Che’s, but the facial features were even more bright and handsome, with a faint youthful aura of arrogance and cruelty.
With that single glance, he knew this was the big man on campus that everyone admired.
The student didn’t pay him any attention, striding off with long steps, as if he didn’t want to linger around a second longer.
Jiang Yao waited in that spot for a while, until Yin Che came out of the little grove. He was still holding that large bag in one hand. When he caught sight of him, he immediately tightened his grip, as if he were on guard.
Jiang Yao smiled, “Why so nervous? I won’t snatch the wooden house you sawed late into the night.”
Yin Che’s expression sank, “You were eavesdropping.”
“Yeah, I eavesdropped, so what?”
“Shameless.”
“Have you always cursed so eloquently? ‘Frivolous,’ ‘shameless.’ Can it even be called cursing without a single obscenity? Even your di can use the word ‘bullshit’, eh?”
“……fuck off.” Yin Che walked around him.
Seeing him in such a bad mood made Jiang Yao feel thrilled. The little conflict from the dining hall just now was quickly tossed to the back corner of his mind.
He followed after him and launched a verbal attack, “I say, as a gege, you don’t receive much respect, huh? This is the first time I’ve seen a gege be despised like this, hahaha……”
Yin Che quickened his pace, walking on with a dark expression, trying to lose him.
Jiang Yao caught up in just a few steps and continued to pressure him, “To be honest, in my family, I am also the gege, just like you. But my sibling is my meimei, five or six years younger than me, so cute and clingy.
Every time she sees me, she wants to hug me. All day long, she follows right behind me, treating me like an idol, always showing me off to her classmates. Ai, how can the gap between gege and gege be so huge……”
Yin Che came to a halt, “Are you fucking not going to fuck off?”
(t/n: fuck has the character for mom in it)
Jiang Yao applauded, “Not bad, you finally mastered the essence of cursing. But sorry, I don’t have a mom, I just have two dads. So this sentence can’t apply to me.”
Yin Che gritted his teeth to restrain himself, but couldn’t hold himself back in the end. *Clatter!* He threw down the bag and replied to him with a fist.
“Let me see this thing——” Jiang Yao crouched down to look at the contents of the bag, just barely avoiding his fist as if by coincidence.
He opened the bag. A model of a wooden house had been placed upright inside. The three-story villa had doors, windows, and balconies. The sparrow may have been small, but all its vital organs were there¹. It wasn’t painted and the texture of the wood looked very plain and simple. The sawed edges were a bit rough.
The intention was obviously sincere, but probably only a kindergarten kid would be amazed by this kind of handmade gift. If they were just a bit older, they just wouldn’t cherish it. Even Jiang Yao’s elementary school-aged sister had asked for a smartphone for her birthday present in June this year.
“What are you looking at.” Yin Che’s blow had missed, so he quickly crouched down and grabbed the bag to hide the thing inside.
There were band-aids on two of his fingers and there were a few inconspicuous bruises on the back of his hand.
“You got hurt when you made the house?” Jiang Yao asked.
Yin Che hesitated and then nodded.
“Your di must have seen that, but he still acted so indifferent? That’s not the way to be…… Friendly suggestion, sort him out with a beating.”
“What do you know, my di is very good.”
“That kind of behavior can be praised? If my mei dared to yell at me even a little bit like that, then I’d just——”
“You’d just what?” Yin Che’s gaze suddenly sharpened at him, as if he already viewed him as a child abuser.
“I’d just——cut off her pocket money, not buy her a pretty little skirt, or not take her to watch the newest animated movie.” Jiang Yao laughed, “What else did you imagine?”
Yin Che blinked in surprise. Then he pursed his lips and couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
Jiang Yao had thought it just now when he was peeking and the brat had smiled. Normally he didn’t look half bad, but when he smiled, the curve of his bright eyes was like a crescent moon reflected in a crisp, clear spring.
Just the sight of it gave off the feeling of a cool breeze on a hot day.
“Hey, has no one ever told you you look very handsome when you smile? Smile more often, don’t always wear such a stiff expression.” Jiang Yao usually didn’t speak so indulgently, but the words came out smoothly with no other intention.
But Yin Che obviously didn’t think so, because he instantly withdrew his smile, “You even want to harass me?”
Jiang Yao raised both hands in surrender, “I’ve been wrongly accused. I’m only interested in omegas, and only the beautiful type.”
Yin Che looked him up and down suspiciously, “I think beautiful omegas might look down on you.”
How could that happen? With his current look, definitely not.
“Yin Che-tongxue, I suddenly felt that you are quite kind.” Jiang Yao extended his hand, “Let’s be friends. Your bullshit di not forgiving you is because he’s narrow-minded, but for me, as a great man, say it’s best to forgive and forget², and I forgive you.”
“Fuck off, you’re just bullshit.”
All the boarding students had to go to evening self-study, plus the day students could also attend, from 6:30 to 9:00.
After evening self-study, the sky outside was completely dark.
Walking on the road back to the dormitory, Jiang Yao looked up and caught sight of the bright moon in the sky and suddenly felt homesick.
When he previously went to Eighth High, he lived at home. He didn’t usually go out and wander around freely at night. Instead spending his time playing childish games with his sister and doing stupid math problems.
Those times were comfy and warm and he had never felt bored.
Occasionally, someone who had a grudge would come into his territory at night to cause trouble, cutting into the time he could spend with his younger sister. Those people would simply be completely beaten up.
If it was nothing much, just some insults, but if it was serious……he’d toss out a set of high school math problems and mark them on the face with an oil pen each time they answered wrong until they could get it right.
Oil pen marks couldn’t be rubbed or washed off, and the imprint could last for two to three weeks, so whenever Dong Cheng students caught sight of some dummy with black marks all across their face, they’d instantly know that person had gone off to offend the devil incarnate of Eighth High.
Jiang Yao’s fear-inspiring reputation in Dong Cheng was unmatched, mostly because he was strong, but also because his methods were quite abnormal.
“What’re you looking at?” a cold voice came from behind him.
After the incident at midday, the brat’s attitude towards him had seemed to ease up.
Jiang Yao raised his head high and puffed out his chest, imitating Wu GuoZhong’s tone and cadence, “Gazing upwards —— I see the moon so bright! Lowering my eyes —— when nostalgia arise!³”
“……nut case.”
Well, fine, that easing up was probably just my one-sided impression.
Who knew if the moon was scared away by the recitation of that poetry, but, in the blink of an eye, it hid behind the dark clouds.
The weather forecast had said that there’d be a thunderstorm today, but the rain hadn’t yet fallen. In the end, as soon as they set foot into the dorm, there was a loud “rumble!” outside and then a sudden crack of thunder.
“Aiyo! Shoot! My clothes are still hanging out to dry!” Zhang Ke broke into a run up the stairs and the other students quickly rushed back to their rooms.
Jiang Yao had plenty of clothes, so he wasn’t worried about some getting soaked. His worried alpha father had bought him ten sets of school uniforms, so he had plenty to change into.
He walked to his room’s door leisurely, only to realize that Yin Che seemed to have been following right behind him the whole time, keeping a short distance between them, just like his own personal little servant.
“Why are you following me?”
“Who’s following you.” Yin Che took out his key and inserted it into his door, taking several tries to push it all the way in.
Watching this, Jiang Yao had to speak up, “Hey, you have Parkinson’s——”
A bolt of lightning suddenly struck, cleaving open the dark summer night sky and splitting the curtain of rain, illuminating Yin Che’s pale face.
Immediately afterwards, there was another loud rumble of thunder.
Jiang Yao was very certain of what he’d seen, Yin Che’s whole body had been trembling violently when the lightning flashed.
This brat……is unexpectedly afraid of lightning.
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The author has something to say:
Quickly smoosh (rua-rua) the startled bunny. (Meimei was born after the ShaoWang story, yes, her surname is Wang, hahaha, the master of equal treatment⁴ is me!)
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Footnotes:
1. Sparrow… (麻雀虽小，五脏俱全): idiom, small but complete in every detail↩
2. Forgive and forget (大人不记小人过): idiom, a greater man remember the offenses committed by a lesser man↩
3. Gazing upwards… (举头望明月，低头思故乡): poem about the moon from Li Bai, the most widely celebrated poet in China↩
4. 端水大师: reference to an internet meme, someone who has no preferences/cheers for everyone equally ↩
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*rua ruas the bunny*
Aww ShaoWang couple have two children 🥺