Chapter 11

Oreo slept overnight in the guest room of Gu Xin’s home.

It was raining outside. The room felt humid but it was comforting to fall asleep to the sound of the rain.

I dreamt of my mom saying she’ll take care of the people who bullied me.

The sky was still overcast the next day. Oreo woke up and lay on the bed in a daze.

He recalled last year’s thanksgiving. The class went to his house to roast a turkey together. The class gathered around and as they laughed and talked, the turkey all ended up in Lu Hao’s stomach.

Afterward, Lu Hao had even complained to him, saying that the turkey didn’t taste like chicken at all. Its texture was like beef and it wasn’t as fragrant as a normal roast chicken.

Zhang Wenqi had smiled and said: “How can you still complain when everyone’s share of the turkey had gone into your stomach?”

Thanksgiving also happened to be Lu Hao’s birthday, a lot of people had prepared gifts for Lu Hao. Cheng Jun had given Lu Hao a wristwatch.

Oreo was afraid that everyone didn’t eat their fill so he prepared a hot pot. Guo Yang helped prepare the ingredients and chopped vegetables.

It was very warm inside his house.

Oreo pulled the quilt up higher as if it could make him feel a little warmer.

Lu Hao also woke up early, but he didn’t wake up naturally. He was awoken by the noises of his phone. Someone was messaging him:

Zhang Wei: I went to see Oreo, your method is really black.

Lu Hao: Messaging me so early in the morning, are you sick?

Zhang Wei: I didn’t sleep last night. Right now I can’t tell if it’s day or night.

Lu Hao: Why didn’t you sleep?

Zhang Wei: I was too excited after seeing Oreo’s sorry appearance.

Lu Hao: Weirdo.

Zhang Wei: You really are vicious. If it’s not for him, you’ll still be getting into fights in some corner.

Lu Hao was really wild when he graduated middle school. That day, after the incident with Zhang Wei was over, the three of them had become good friends and Oreo wholeheartedly tried to bring Lu Hao back to the correct path. Occasionally, he would even tutor Lu Hao in English. Teacher Lin, their English Teacher at the time, had said that Oreo was like help sent from heaven. He carried Lu Hao through two exams.

English teacher, Teacher Lin.

Thinking about this person now felt like such distant memories.

It was after the arts festival in their freshman year. Every class had the opportunity to take a group photo on stage to keep as a memento.

Teacher Lin was the homeroom teacher of Class One. Class One waited behind Class Five to have their photo taken.

The homeroom teacher of Class Five, Teacher Xue, wanted the photo to come out well and spent a long time arranging the standing order of the students in Class Five, causing the classes waiting behind them to become impatient.

Although Teacher Lin was the homeroom teacher of Class One, she was also liked by the students of Class Five for her gentle and understanding nature.

When the standing placement was finished being arranged, Teacher Lin took a seperate photo of the students in Class Five using her phone. She smiled and said: “Come, students, look at the camera lens. 1,2,3, cheese.”

“Alright students, you can come off from the stage.”

Oreo was standing in the first row. He went down the stage first with a few other boys.

“Let me see who dares to go down.” Teacher Xue frowned.

It turns out when they were taking the pictures, Teacher Xue had also raised her phone but none of the majority of the students hadn’t noticed or paid attention to her.

“The people who went off the stage just now, don’t come back to class this afternoon.” Teacher Xue said tartly.

Oreo and the other boys were simply unfortunate. They stood underneath the stage at a loss. Lu Hao and the remaining students gave them pitying looks.

But the one feeling the most awkward was Teacher Lin.

Later on, Lu Hao heard Teacher Xue and the homeroom teacher of Class Six mentioning this matter numerous times. They didn’t say anything against the students, but they talked about how Teacher Lin was ‘meddlesome’ and how she was ‘stretching her hands into their classes’ and so on. They began to single out Teacher Lin with the other teachers.

Teacher Lin was met with troubles from all directions and in the end, she had enough of it and resigned.

After the closing of the Arts Festival, it also happened to be Oreo’s birthday on that day. Oreo went to the cafeteria in the afternoon and ordered a cake.

In the morning, he had invited everyone in the class to eat cake. Somehow, Teacher Xue learned of it.

The last class before the break was Teacher Xue’s math class. Teacher Xue said that everyone must return to class on time today after eating. No one was allowed to be late by even a minute, otherwise, they’ll have to stand in the hallway during the afternoon break.

During their freshman year, they weren’t allowed to go home in the afternoon. Everyone spent their time reviewing in the classroom or napping on their desks.

Teacher Xue’s meaning was, she was forbidding everyone from celebrating Oreo’s birthday.

Oreo could not figure out why Teacher Xue was so against him.

But afterward, Oreo gradually understood where this hostility was coming from.

That day, Oreo returned the cake and was feeling upset. Lu Hao, Zhang Wenqi, Cheng Jun, Guo Yang, the people that he was usually close to all comforted him during class. They said Teacher Xue must be menopausal to have such a bad temper.

Had he not been reminded of these past trivialities, he might have forgotten about them forever.

As Oreo washed up in the bathroom, he heard the door sound. Gu Xin walked in with an umbrella that was wet from the rain. His hair had also gotten wet and there were water droplets hanging to his lashes, but he was still as handsome as ever, to the point that people are captivated by him.

It wasn’t very bright inside the room. Oreo dried his face then hobbled over to greet him.

“Let’s go, it’s time for school.” Gu Xin said.

When they arrived at school, Oreo and Gu Xin got out of the same car. The students from the same year gaped at them blankly.

From the school’s entrance, Lu Hao also craned his neck and looked over to see what the hell Gu Xin was up to.

“Let me carry you upstairs.” Gu Xin said.

Oreo saw that his eyes were sincere. They were beseeching even.

I’m very happy to exploit your guilt.

“Okay.”

Oreo held the umbrella in his hand while Gu Xin carried him.

No one had ever seen Gu Xin act like this.

In their grade, he was like a flower that grew alone on a peak. If he bestowed you a glance, it was already considered a great honor. He did not associate with Lu Hao deeply nor did he flatter any teachers. He never acted like an ‘exemplary student’ nor did he ever put on airs by merits of his family background.

And this sort of person, he was carrying someone devotedly on his back right now.

Oreo’s eyes were closed as he lay against Gu Xin’s back.

He heard that a person’s five senses are connected to each other. Shutting one down would heighten the other.

He closed his eyes and the sounds beside his ears became clearer.

The sound of the wind and rain, the sound of footsteps walking through puddles, the sound of the crowd talking., the sound of Gu Xin breathing.

Those people were discussing the rumor of him being a MB. They were guessing Gu Xin’s intentions. They were calling him disgusting, saying he had always wanted to find a financial backer after his family went bankrupt. They also said he was exploiting others by acting weak and vulnerable, said that he was a plagiarist and that he had tormented the girl until she jumped off the building.

Their malice, their slanders, it entered his ears. It used to break his heart to listen to them.

He lowered his head and kissed Gu Xin’s cheek.