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[Chapter 076] “I Think, We Can Give It A Try.”
He sang warmly, like a leaf slowly unfurling under the sunlight.
He sang softly:
“I want to sing myself for you
while we are young like flowers
May the flowers bloom to their hearts’ content
adorning your life and my branches“
His singing voice was lilting, his gaze clear as he silently looked at the person in front of him, his eyes without a trace of complications.
Lu YunFei felt his gaze, like soft sand running between his fingers.
“Who can take your place?
Take advantage of youth and love as passionately as you want
My dearest, dearest love,
the journey is long—let’s be together“
Lu YunFei subconsciously lowered his eyelids as the melody continued, verses that were all too familiar, yet strangely foreign to him:
“I sing myself for you
Please give me your pure and innocent smile
We deserve these happy,
blissful, sunny days“
His singing was easy on the ears, as if he was afraid of disturbing the winter snow on branches, or as if he was afraid of disturbing the summer dreams. As Lu YunFei listened, he felt his heart slowly soften.
He heard as Bian JinYuan sang:
“Let me move you with my passionate love, okay?“
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And also heard Bian JinYuan repeat the previous verse
“Who can take your place?
Take advantage of youth and love as passionately as you want
My dearest, dearest love,
the journey is long—let’s be together“
He sang so gently and was so moving that as Lu YunFei listened, he suddenly felt in that moment that virtually nothing was impossible.
He didn’t hate Bian JinYuan, and hadn’t generated any rejection at the knowledge that Bian JinYuan liked him. It was just that he had never been in a romantic relationship before, and so he didn’t know if they could be together.
But since he wanted to be together with him, then it wasn’t like they couldn’t try it out.
He looked at the person in front of him as he listened to his gentle singing. He seemed to always be like this, no matter how others were, he would always be gentle and patient like he was here. He would monitor his vocabulary spelling time and again, sacrifice his sleep to organise vocabulary for him, prepare mock English essays for him to memorise, and would unconditionally agree to every single request that he made.
Lu YunFei raised his head to look at Bian JinYuan, and easily saw himself lit up in his eyes.
His gaze had always searched for himself, and so he was always there.
This was probably the most passionate feeling that Bian JinYuan could display. Aside from relations borne of blood, he was the only colour in Bian JinYuan’s eyes. Vibrant, shining, and unique.
At this moment, Lu YunFei finally came to a decision.
He listened as Bian JinYuan completed the song, and then slowly opened his mouth. His tone was unhurried, and was almost drowned under the loud music, but Bian JinYuan heard him.
He heard the young man in front of him say, “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I’ve never been in a romantic relationship before, so I don’t know if we’re compatible or not. But, I think, we can give it a try.”
He looked at Lu YunFei. Lu YunFei’s eyes were firm, as if he had climbed a mountain and, once he finally broke clear of the fog, remained steadfast at its peak, “So, let’s give it a try.”
They would give it a try and give each other a chance so that no matter if they were compatible or not, at least they wouldn’t have regrets. They were young after all, and possessed opportunities and time in abundance. And so they would give it a try, because they were young and carefree, because their futures were long and had infinite possibilities and wonder. After all, they were in their youth.
Hearing this, Bian JinYuan couldn’t help but smile. He put down the microphone in his hand and moved closer to Lu YunFei to let him see the delight in his eyes.
“We’ll definitely be compatible,” he said, “because I’ll always accommodate you. No matter when, I’ll always adjust my pace to yours. You will always be the most important existence to me.”
Lu YunFei was slightly embarrassed by his declaration. Hearing the beat of the next song, he pushed Bian JinYuan and urged, “Your song.”
That afternoon, Lu YunFei didn’t sing that many songs, but instead listened to an entire afternoon of Bian JinYuan singing love songs to him. They didn’t choose tragic love songs, but selected the sweet, endearing love songs to sing.
Lu YunFei was in a good mood. He felt that the difficult problem that had been bugging him was finally solved, and he no longer had to wonder if he liked Bian JinYuan or not. Bian JinYuan was also in a good mood. Lu YunFei giving it a try meant a certain answer for him. He had received an answer that he wanted and could now come down from a day’s worth of anxiety.
It was a good afternoon. The sun shone brightly and the breeze was gentle. The fruits of autumn were on the branches, as their youthful romance bloomed.
On Monday morning, Li Li called Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan to the staff office to tell them that the Mathematics and Physics competition would be held that weekend, and that they were selected to represent the school. The venue was at Thirty-eight High, and the school would provide hotel accommodations near the venue for the weekend. She would also be there.
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“We’ll be participating in both Mathematics and Physics?” Lu YunFei asked.
Li Li nodded, “I’ll be in charge of Mathematics, and teacher Wang will be in charge of Physics.”
Lu YunFei understood, “Alright.”
“Then make sure to revise the subjects this week so that you can do well when the time comes.”
“Don’t worry teacher Li,” Lu YunFei smiled and said.
Li Li didn’t worry for him and Bian JinYuan, so she only dispensed some advice on things to note before letting them go back.
Lu YunFei left the office and sent a WeChat message to Wen MingYi asking, are you participating in the Mathematics competition this Saturday?
Wen MingYi’s reply was fast and simple, yes.
Lu YunFei said, then good luck to you.
Wen MingYi, you too.
In order to better ensure that Lu YunFei and the rest would perform well on Saturday’s Mathematics competition, Li Li brought the four of them to the reserved hotel on Friday after school.
Among the four of them, Lu YunFei, Bian JinYuan, and Wen MingYi knew each other, and the only one who was a stranger was a girl named Zhāng Mèng . Zhang Meng was a little introverted and didn’t talk much, but she would join in with a few sentences whenever the conversation steered to an interesting topic. It could be said that everyone enjoyed the journey.
Li Li had initially wanted to room with Zhang Meng, but then worried that she would feel pressured rooming with a teacher, and so she decided to get her a king-sized room.
“The three of you are boys, so I’ll get you a family room. Two people to sleep on a large bed, and one person to sleep on the small bed.”
Lu YunFei ??? This was a thing huh.
Wen MingYi looked at Bian JinYuan and then at Lu YunFei, before turning to look at Li Li, “Teacher Li, who among us three looks like the child?”
Li Li seriously looked at them, and finally placed her gaze on him, “Looks like you’re slightly shorter, so it should be you.”
Wen MingYi…
Wen MingYi frostily expressed, “Then I want independence, I’ll room by myself!”
Li Li, “I thought the three of you get along well.”
“Give my parents some space to be alone together,” Wen MingYi said sincerely, “a triangle may be a stable shape, but it’s a tragedy if it’s made up of people!”
Li Li…
Li Li silently got Wen MingYi a king room.
“Thank you teacher Li,” Wen MingYi said happily.
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“Do the both of you also want to have your own room?” Li Li looked at her favourite students, “Or should I get you a standard room?”
“A standard room is fine,” Lu YunFei said.
Bian JinYuan looked at him and quietly swallowed his words, “Get us a king room too then.”
Three king rooms and one standard room. Li Li retrieved the room cards and led her students into the elevator.
Li Li didn’t want to burden the students on the eve of the examination, and so she ate dinner with everyone and simply said “you can look for me at any time if you encounter problems”, before returning to her room.
The students freely split up and commenced their final revision.
Bian JinYuan never really revised before an exam, but Lu YunFei did, and so he accompanied Lu YunFei to revise.
“Are you confident for the exam tomorrow?” Lu YunFei asked him.
Bian JinYuan nodded.
“Would you be able to take first place?”
“I don’t know about that,” Bian JinYuan said matter-of-factly.
“Then good luck, I hope you get first place.”
“You don’t wish to take first place?” Bian JinYuan asked him.
“I could take it, so could you, or Wen MingYi. Either of the three of us would be great.”
Bian JinYuan thought that his favouritsm was quite blatant, but, it was quite cute.
“I will,” he nodded as he smiled.
“Then go sleep, we’ve got to wake up early tomorrow.”
“Mmm.”
The both of them showered and changed into their pyjamas and got under their blankets.
Lu YunFei switched off the bedside lamp, and the room darkened. He wasn’t able to sleep yet, and so he turned to his side and chatted with Bian JinYuan softly. Bian JinYuan also turned to his side to chat with him.
“I still feel quite excited,” Lu YunFei said.
“Why don’t you work on another paper then?”
“Never mind then. Aren’t you excited?” Lu YunFei asked.
Bian JinYuan shook his head, “I’m not.”
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“Teacher Bian really is calm no matter the situation huh.”
“Not necessarily.”
“Oh?”
“When I confessed to you, I wasn’t that calm, and was quite anxious in fact.”
Lu YunFei widened his eyes, “Really? I couldn’t tell.”
“There are many things you can’t tell.”
“Such as?”
“Such as,” Bian JinYuan looked at him, his mouth curved in a small smile, “do you really want to hear it?”
“Of course,” Lu YunFei said unhesitatingly.
“Such as right now, I’m thinking of how to go over to your bed to sleep.”
Lu YunFei… that I really couldn’t tell!
Couldn’t tell that you were this kind of teacher Bian! Lu YunFei silently exclaimed.
“What’s your response?” Bian JinYuan asked, “You aren’t going to give an answer after hearing it?”
“No response means no response,” Lu YunFei said unconcernedly.
Bian JinYuan made a sound of “Oh”, “Then I think that I probably can’t take first place in tomorrow’s exam.”
Lu YunFei…
Lu YunFei felt that his trial boyfriend was too scheming; this sort of person wasn’t suited to be with a good young man like himself!
Despite his internal complaining, he still scooted on the bed as he coolly said, “Come here.”
Bian JinYuan swiftly left his bed and peeled the blanket to lie next to him.
The single bed in the standard room wasn’t large, but it could still accommodate two people.
“Can you take first place tomorrow now?” Lu YunFei asked.
Bian JinYuan smiled, his voice held a hint of seduction as it seared across Lu YunFei’s ear, “I’ll take whatever place you want me to take.”
Lu YunFei couldn’t help but lower his head, but he also couldn’t stop his smile.
Bian JinYuan looked at him, his eyes full of warmth.
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He reached out to hold Lu YunFei’s hand, who didn’t resist and allowed his hand to be wrapped in his. Bian JinYuan’s heart softened in an instant, as if a stream of running water passed by, or as if the sun shone on it. As he held Lu YunFei’s hand, he suddenly thought of Bian Ting. Bian Ting had said that this world was her greatest gift to him. Bian JinYuan had never suspected this point, but now, he could clearly experience this gift.
Lu YunFei was his most precious encounter in this world.
He gently let go of Lu YunFei’s hand and gently hugged him. Lu YunFei didn’t resist. He patted Lu YunFei’s back and said softly, “Sleep, have sweet dreams, and do well in tomorrow’s exam.”
Lu YunFei nodded and lied against him as he shut his eyes.
It was meant to be a good night. The both of them dreamt sweet dreams and woke up on time to their alarms the next day.
The Mathematics exam was held in the morning and ended at 12pm. Li Li took them out for a meal and then took Wen MingYi and Zhang Meng back. Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan continued to stay in the hotel as they waited to participate in the Physics competition the next day.
The two students who were joining them for the Physics competition arrived in the afternoon. They were also a boy and a girl. Teacher Wang arrived before them and greeted Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan.
The new students took Wen MingYi and Zhang Meng’s rooms. After a night of rest, they joined Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan to enter the examination hall.
After both exams ended, Lu YunFei finally breathed out in relief. He asked Bian JinYuan, “How do you feel?”
Bian JinYuan replied candidly, “Average.”
Lu YunFei was speechless, “What kind of average? The kind from the national meet?”
Bian JinYuan smiled and reached out to grab him as he walked forward, “The kind that will satisfy you.”
Lu YunFei was pleased by this, “You should answer this way in the future. You’re not allowed to say average. Your average and my average is not the same, understood?”
“Understood,” Bian JinYuan said acquiescently.
Satisfied, Lu YunFei walked along with him.
The results of the competition were announced at the end of November. Bian JinYuan took the expected first place for both Mathematics and Physics in the province. Lu YunFei took second place for Mathematics, and did well for Physics, tying for second place with Bian JinYuan for that. As for the others, only Wen MingYi took third place for Mathematics.
These results were a cause for celebration for Lu YunFei, who dragged Bian JinYuan, Wen MingYi, and Li YuanQing out to celebrate that very day.
The school heads were also delighted, and commended the three of them at the flag-raising ceremony on Monday, especially Bian JinYuan. As their homeroom teacher, Li Li was more concerned over whether these results could be considered bonus points for the college entrance exams. However while she didn’t know if they could be considered bonus points, numerous independent enrolments for colleges approached the three of them because of this.
Thus, Lu YunFei and Bian JinYuan welcomed this year’s Christmas in the midst of these college enrolments.