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Chapter 3 – Confession Scene
The auditorium was filled with voices.
Yue Zhishi laid on his side, the symptoms becoming more and more intense. He clearly wanted to take a big breath but the airflow entering his body grew smaller and smaller. It felt like there was a hole in his chest and air constantly leaked out. Before he could take a proper breath, he started coughing violently.
Sensing that his student was in very bad conditions, Wang Qian was also very anxious, “Yue Zhishi, what’s going on? Are you okay? Can you talk?” He lifted Yue Zhishi and gently patted his back, “Try taking a deep breath. Take it slow.”
Just when everyone didn’t know what to do, a white figure broke through the crowd of blue.
“Spread out, don’t surround him.”
The classmates around Yue Zhishi were shocked. No one had thought that Song Yu who was still speaking on stage just now would suddenly appear here.
The head teacher Wang Qian was also a little surprised when he saw Song Yu. This was a student he had taught. Back then, he felt that this child was rather cold and didn’t have many good friends so he didn’t seem like the righteous type.
Song Yu half squatted down, supported Yue Zhishi who could no longer speak and help adjust his position before taking out medicine from his pocket.
Seeing the medicine he carried with him, Wang Qian was a little confused. He asked carefully, “Song Yu, can he take your medicine? I have already called the emergency staff at the school hospital. They will be here soon.”
“No time. This is his medicine.” Song Yu was so calm, he didn’t seem like a student but more like a professional emergency worker. He raised his head and instructed the people around him, “Everyone, spread out a little more.”
He loosened the tie around Yue Zhishi’s neck and unbuttoned the two buttons at the top of his shirt, exposing his neck. Supporting his shoulder and stabilising his head, one hand accurately held the inhaler at Yue Zhishi’s mouth. His actions were smooth and fluid, “Yue Zhishi, take your medicine.”
At this moment, Yue Zhishi’s entire forehead was covered with cold sweat and his lips were slightly purple. He instinctively grabbed Song Yu’s arm and exhausted all his strength to inhale the inhaler.
He hadn’t had asthma in a long time. That feeling of being unable to control his tears and breathing was extremely uncomfortable. Everything was blank but he could hear Song Yu’s voice which gave him comfort.
“Again.”
Over the past two years of being classmates, it was their first time encountering this kind of emergency. All of Yue Zhishi’s classmates standing around them were stunned. Those who were familiar with him knew that he was allergic, but he usually only had a rash.
The mist from the inhaler entered his lungs and, a few minutes later, Yue Zhishi’s heaving chest started to gradually calm down and his breathing was no longer as quick or as short as it was a few minutes earlier.
“Feeling better?” Wang Qian was still worried, “We should still get him to rest in the infirmary.”
“Needs a follow up check.” Song Yu took away the inhaler and moved his gaze away from his pale face, inadvertently glancing at the bread packaging left on the ground.
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He reached out and placed his palm against Yue Zhishi’s chest to check his heart rate before moving to check the condition of the rashes on his arm and neck.
Although the symptoms were relieved, his consciousness was still a little faint. Every time he has an asthma attack, he would become very dependent, like a chick struggling to live.
He couldn’t think at all while he was receiving first aid and only knew that Song Yu must be the one saving him. The first thing he wanted to do after recovering was to confirm this, so he weakly opened his eyes and was relieved to when he saw Song Yu’s face.
“Ge…….” His voice was faint and his fingers weakly grabbed Song Yu’s arm. The asthma was like a violent storm, and his remaining willpower made him completely forget about his agreement.
The sharp eared Jiang Yufan brainlessly repeated it, “Ge…….GE?!”
Just that one word echoed through the auditorium.
Song Yu is Yue Zhishi’s ‘brother’.
On the day of the opening ceremony, this secret Yue Zhishi had kept from others for two years was finally exposed to the entire school.
¡
There would always be several outstanding people at school. If they’re not being discussed about, they are surrounded by people.
Yue Zhishi and Song Yu are both typical examples of this, but no one thought that these two usually unrelated people would actually have such a connection and it was actually such a close one.
News spread fastest through dense crowds and it didn’t take long for this incident during the opening ceremony to become a hot topic of discussion for everyone.
Yue Zhishi’s childhood had never been very quiet.
When he first joined the Song family, he was transferred to a kindergarten. There, he had no friends he was familiar with and he also couldn’t communicate and, most importantly, he looked different from everyone else. As a result, he was often watched like a circus animal and even bullied by some of the older children with nicknames like ‘yellow hair’ and ‘little bastard’.
He didn’t like kindergarten very much and would always be unwilling to go, wanting to just hide at home and draw. He would cry as soon as he reached the kindergarten and carrying him out of the car was like they were sending him out to be killed.
Although this experience was no less during elementary school, he at least had Song Yu there so he would often find Song Yu when he was unhappy. Sometimes when Song Yu’s class is over and he looks back, he would see the pitiful Yue Zhishi peeping past the classroom door, looking like an unweaned puppy.
After his peers gradually matured, fewer and fewer people alienated him, and everyone gradually got used to it. Later, the aesthetics of grown-up children changed, and more and more people began to think that Yue Zhishi was good-looking, good-looking to the point that the other boys their age was no match for him. Since his personality was also good, the bullied Yue Zhishi somehow became a sought-after target of affection.
He didn’t like being the centre of attention and he also didn’t want to be publicly executed at the opening ceremony but in the end, Yue Zhishi became the focus of the entire school in a very dramatic fashion.
Lying in the infirmary bed, he looked up at the ceiling in daze. The doctor on duty checked him and he obediently cooperated, like a soulless toy. After the check, he laid down and continued to rest.
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The steading breathing made him feel at ease.
Ever since he was a child, Yue Zhishi had rich imagination. A small stain on the ceiling could look like a hermit crab on a white sandy beach to him and its small shell would lead him to associate it with caves or even a black hole.
As he explored the universe through the ceiling, the door to the infirmary suddenly opened. Yue Zhishi turned over and peeked out through a small gap in the curtain only to see Jiang Yufan’s face. He fell back onto the bed, disappointed.
“Le Le?” Jiang Yufan’s voice was very quiet, as if he was afraid of waking him up.
“I’m not asleep.” Yue Zhishi sat up and pulled open the curtain, “It’s over? So fast.”
“Yeah.” Jiang Yufan brought his schoolbag over for him and handed him a carton of milk, “You shouldn’t be allergic to this. I often see you drink it.” Seeing him shake his head, Jiang Yufan was relieved, “The teacher said there’s no need to go back. You can go home directly after you rest.”
Yue Zhishu drank some of the milk, “Teacher Wang didn’t call my parents?”
This incident was an accident. It was because he was not careful enough and he didn’t want Aunt Rong to worry.
“I don’t know. Anyway, he called Song Yu over and they talked for a while. It’s probably to understand the situation.” Reaching this point, Jiang Yufan started to vent, “I knew it couldn’t have been a coincidence for him just happen to pick up your name badge and just happen to recognise you. Halfway through his speech, he ran off the stage to give you first aid and he also just happened to have your medicine on him. If you didn’t call out brother at the end, I would’ve thought you two had a secret relationship.”
Hearing that last line, Yue Zhishi was startled, “No, no, no. How could that be possible.” After saying that, he explained, “We’re not real brothers.”
In fact, he also regretted it very much. When he sobered up and regained strength, he recalled the scene of himself calling Song Yu brother in front of everyone. Yue Zhishi wanted to beat his chest for making such a mistake.
“Not real? Cousins?” Jiang Yufen suddenly came to an understand, “So that’s why. The two of you don’t look alike at all and you also don’t share the same surname.”
“That’s not it. Just listen to my explanation.” Yue Zhishi zipped up his bag and briefly explained about his foster care situation.
Although he explained it very lightly, no matter how dense Jiang Yufan may be, he was still a little surprised, “Is that so……”
The term foster care was too heavy of a word for these teenaged children, as if it was undermined by misfortune and misery.
Jiang Yufan internally though: No wonder Yue Zhishi pretended not to know Song Yu at school.
He scratched his head, “Th-then……then how is his family treating you?”
Yue Zhishi smiled, “They’re good. No different from their own son.”
“That’s good, that’s good. But…” Jiang Yufan asked again, “But why didn’t they directly….what I’m trying to say is… adopt….” He said that last word very quietly.
Yue Zhishi however didn’t mind it, “Oh, I’ve also asked about that before. Uncle said that my parents are great people and no one in the world can replace them so he hopes that I can remember them this way. They also said that even without going through that procedure, they will take good care of me.” He added, “Uncle Song is my father’s best, best friend. They grew up together like real brothers.”
“So that’s it……” Jiang Yufan looked relieved. He patted him on the shoulder and said seriously, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. My mouth is sealed.”
“It’s okay.” Yue Zhishi lowered his head and suddenly noticed that his buttons were unbuttoned, and his tie had been pulled apart. He was half unconscious when it happened so he couldn’t remember, “What happened…..”
“Your brother…..I mean, Song Yu undid it when he gave you first aid.” Jiang Yufan then said, “You probably didn’t see how he looked like rushing down from the stage. Really handsome.”
Yue Zhishi indeed didn’t see it. It was a pity. He could however imagine what it may have looked like. Lowering his head, he looked at the black spot on the tip of his shoe and recalled the haze he saw before the onset of the asthma attack. It felt as if he was completely trapped inside a dark cloud.
The way Song Yu rushed over was probably like a bright beam of light, penetrating through the haze and finding him.
Imagining this scene in his mind, a sense of joy rose in Yue Zhishi’s heart and even the milk tasted sweet. When he picked up his bag, he noticed that it was bulging. He opened it and took a look. Inside was the gift he had received in the morning, “You even put this in?”
“I thought you might want to go to class 11 before leaving.”
“Yeah.” He finished off the rest of the milk and threw the carton into the trash can. After fixing his tie, he patted Jiang Yufan’s leg, “Let’s go. Go home for dinner.”
Jiang City’s early September was still rather hot. The Chinese flame tree that hadn’t been pruned for many years stretched its dense branches into the windows on the third floor. These passionate green leaves were blocked by the glass windows, making it appear a little pitiful.
It was just like when the younger Yue Zhishi would press his face against the study rooms glass door to look at Song Yu inside, his fleshy face squashed and deformed.
Since becoming Yue Zhishi’s classmate at the beginning of their first year of junior high school, Jiang Yufan knew about his allergy, but he didn’t expect it to be so serious. He asked curiously, “How did you know about your allergy? If it was this bad, it must’ve been very serious the first time you found out.”
The first time……
In fact, he still had some impression, but it wasn’t much. He had also gone to the hospital too many times as a child and that had diluted his memories of his first time.
“I don’t remember. I was three at the time and I seemed to need hospitalisation.”
“Three!” Jiang Yufan didn’t dare imagine it, “It was scary enough today. Fortunately, your brother was around. I looked it up earlier and was scared to death. Turns out if you don’t treat asthma in time, you can die.”
Yue Zhishi comforted him, “What happened today was only bad luck. The probability of it happening is very small.”
But he remembered now. When it happened the first time, Song Yu seemed to have also been there.
Saying goodbye to the doctor on duty, the two were about to go downstairs to leave only to run into a beautiful, short haired girl wearing a junior high school uniform like them. Her face was flushed red and her voice was very small, “Yue Zhishi…..”
Yue Zhishi wasn’t familiar with her. He looked at Jiang Yufan for help.
Jiang Yufan remembered and reminded his best buddy with a whisper, “This is the girl who gave you the gift. From class 11.”
Yue Zhishi let out a small ‘ah’.
“A-are you alright now?”
“I’m okay, I’m all better.” Yue Zhishi gave his thanks.
The girl was relieved. She fiddled with the loose hair next to her ear, “I went to your class this morning to look for you, but you hadn’t arrived yet, so I left it in your desk……”
Yue Zhishi saw her ears turn red.
“I hope you like it.”
The sun was very bright. The girl’s voice was drowned by the cicada’s cries.
Holding the strap of his bag, he was silent for a while. Finally, he unzipped it and took out the gift, returning it to her with both hands.
Jiang Yufan couldn’t watch. This scene was too suffocating. When he turned his head to look down from the third floor, he saw a familiar figure; tall and wearing white.
Isn’t this Song Yu? Jiang Yufan narrowed his eyes to take a closer look.
It really is!
Song Yu pushed his bike over and stopped under a camphor tree. He looked down at his watch and looked up again, his eyes meeting Jiang Yufan’s gaze.
The aura was so strong, Jiang Yufan who was standing several metres away was rendered frozen by this cold glance. He immediately turned his head back, pretending that nothing had happened.