After lunch, they still had an additional half-hour break. Most students would choose to return to their dormitories and take an afternoon nap. Unfortunately, as Su Tang came in a rush, he could only arrange his dorm in the afternoon and therefore couldnât return to take a nap right now.
However, this wasnât bad either since he could walk around the campus with Chi Shu Yan. He hadnât been in the school for long so he wasnât familiar with the place. Adding onto the fact that he was an idiot when it came to directions, if he didnât get familiar with the place now, heâd definitely get lost in the future when he had to go alone.Â
So when Chi Shu Yan suggested walking around, Su Tang readily agreed.
The two left the canteen and walked slowly along a small path that was surrounded by trees. There was a light breeze and the sunâs heat was shielded by the tree canopy. Everything looked perfect.Â
There werenât sounds of hurried pen strokes from the exam room, nor were there sounds of chewing from the canteen; it seemed like the world was cleansed. Su Tangâs mood was good, and he happily hummed a few lines of a song. Only when he turned around did he realise that he wasnât at home and there was someone with him.
Not only was there Chi Shu Yan, but there were even a few students whoâd chosen not to return to the dorms to take a nap.
Itâs just that his gaze always found Chi Shu Yanâs first. Othersâ opinions werenât that importantâat least, they werenât as important as Chi Shu Yanâs.
Su Tang couldnât help laughing, smiling at the other. Chi Shu Yan saw him like that and couldnât help smiling with him.
âWhatâre you smiling at?â Su Tang weakly asked.\n
âSeeing you smile, I also smile.â Chi Shu Yan replied.
Su Tang heard this and couldnât help playing along. The corners of his lips inched up and he stared Chi Shu Yan in the eyes. âThen if I stare at you, will you also stare back?â
Chi Shu Yan stared at him and realised that the ahoge1 on Su Tangâs head was waving about like a weather vane2 blowing with the wind. When he was happy, it would wave around twice; when he was angry, it would shrivel up; when he was shy, it would secretly sway two times.
He smiled and didnât reply, simply taking quick steps to catch up to Su Tang. He rubbed Su Tangâs soft hair, the palm of his hand stroking the ahoge, and he softly said, âYouâre so adorable, how can I bear to not look at you?â
At this time, Su Tangâs face turned red beyond belief. His entire body was like a little volcano blowing out steam. However, he didnât want Chi Shu Yan to see this and turned his head to the side, only showing his two red ears.
He wanted to walk alone, but after going for a while, he slowed down. To a directional idiot, the interior of a new school looked about the same. He walked step by step but grew dizzy. It was as if heâd hit a ghost wall, and it felt like heâd never reach his destination.
Chi Shu Yan, who was walking behind him, saw Su Tangâs footsteps slow down and wondered what was going on. He shook his head helplessly and grabbed Su Tangâs wrist, then led the other to continue walking.
âDonâtâ Donât hold me.â Su Tang felt the part of his wrist that Chi Shu Yan held grow hot. Even his blood was starting to warm. The hot blood flowed throughout his body, and soon, his entire body was overheating.
âSorry.â Chi Shu Yan took back his hand and hid the regret in his eyes.
âThe weatherâs too hot.â Su Tang explained.
âEn.â Chi Shu Yan nodded and didnât continue to talk.
As they approached the teaching building, there were more and more people. It wasnât as quiet as before and relieved some of the awkwardness.
Su Tang looked ahead and saw many students walking and carrying little books to read. The seriousness they had was comparable to when taking the college entrance exams.\nHe then looked to the side and saw that there were a few people seated on the benches under the trees. They were also quietly reading and writing in the notebooks on their laps. Su Tang saw this and couldnât help but stand there in awe.
âTheyâre⌠so amazing.â Su Tang couldnât resist turning around to tell Chi Shu Yan.
The other didnât reply and merely smiled, looking like he was holding back his laughter. Su Tang saw him like that and knew that what he saw wasnât as simple as it seemed. But Chi Shu Yan didnât want to talk, and Su Tang couldnât guess what he was thinking.
âExactly whatâs going on ah?â Su Tang asked with his head tilted, pulling on Chi Shu Yan to gain his favour.
âLook up and see.â That was all Chi Shu Yan said.
Su Tang looked up and realised that there were a few people looking out the windows of the teaching building. They seemed to be teachers and looked in their direction, some even putting on their glasses to try see if the people revising were their students.
âThisâŚâ Su Tang was a little too shocked to speak.
Chi Shu Yan led Su Tang away from the area being watched by the teachers and explained, âThatâs the schoolâs computer room. The teachers are there during examination periods and breaks to check papers. If they get tired, they just look out the window.â
âTheyâre too good at acting.â Su Tang was simply speechless, only feeling that all the previous admiration heâd had was fed to the dogs.
âTheyâre being forced by the exams.â Chi Shu Yan added, âThose who really want to learn find quiet, empty areas, and doing so is said to be effective. Itâs like sharpening your gear before you go into battle.â
Su Tang nodded his head, feeling a little helpless. Those students probably worked extremely hard during the semester. When they finally got a break, they couldnât wait to go out to have fun. Anything theyâd revised and studied was soon forgotten. Then as soon as school reopened, the exams seemed to be a gun pointed at their heads. Everyone felt that there was a lack of a better option and had no choice but to do what they had to.
Su Tang understood the pain of the school idlers especially well. When he transmigrated into this world, although heâd inherited the originalâs memories and could do every question he saw, he knew that memories werenât permanent. In order to not collapse the originalâs settings, heâd burned the midnight oil before the exams to revise.
\nStared at you with admiration.
Su Tang had this thought in his heart but was too embarrassed to say it out loud. He actually wasnât that stupid. Although he didnât remember the route, he remembered whatever Chi Shu Yan had said to him clearly.Â
The other stared at him for a while and Su Tang raised his head to say, âI also donât know.â
âOkay, okay.â Chi Shu Yan saw him like that and reached out to pinch Su Tangâs little face. It turned out that Su Tang was like a mimosa plant4Â and would get shy after you touched him. Chi Shu Yan stared at him for a while until Su Tang couldnât take it any longer and turned away. Chi Shu Yan said with a smile, âThen you canât leave me anymore.â
âOhâŚâ Su Tang made a sound of agreement, feeling that his heart was beating a little faster and he didnât know why. He felt that there was a deeper meaning behind Chi Shuâs wordsâit was as if the other party wasnât only going to lead the way in the future, but also be with him.
âThe weatherâs too hot, Iâll bring you to a cooler place to rest. Donât get heatstroke.â Chi Shu Yan ingeniously changed the topic. Su Tang obediently listened to him and followed him to a nearby garden to rest.
Su Tang was probably exhausted, for as soon as he found a place to sit down, he started to close his eyes. He felt the wind gently blowing by his ears, bringing along the smell of fresh grass. It was familiar and he really liked it.
As he was dozing off, he couldnât help leaning to the side. Chi Shu Yan saw this and hurriedly pressed the otherâs head to his own shoulder. Su Tang didnât wake up and instead seemed to enjoy it very much, nuzzling against him with his little head before smacking his little lips and continuing to sleep.
Time flew by quickly and there were about fifteen or sixteen minutes before they had to enter the exam rooms. Many students came out from the dormitories but the people who walked past the garden were few since it was far.
But by coincidence, Li Cheng was an exception.
Everyone had left their dormitory and it was boring to stay alone. Except he didnât want to return to the classroom so he took a longer route back.
If he didnât choose this route, he wouldnât have gotten a shock. His classâ untouchable flower, Chi Shu Yan, was actually sitting in the pavilion, lending his shoulder for the new student to sleep on.
âF*ckâŚâ He exclaimed. Chi Shu Yan immediately looked back, and with an eyebrow raised, he said, âDonât be noisy, heâs sleeping.â