CH 34

Huo Ran didn’t know if Kou Chen was always like this when he ate alone. It was completely different from how he ate with everyone else.

He never knew that Kou Chen could eat so slowly. 

He puts slices of meat into the pot, and then he took a bite and a small sip of alcohol.

“This isn’t as good as Niuxiaoer.” Kou Chen said.

“Mhm.” Huo Ran nodded.

“Niuxiaoer isn’t as good as its dad.” Kou Chen said. 

“Mhm.” Huo Ran kept nodding.

“Baijiu just tastes better when it’s stronger.” Kou Chen said.

“Yup.” Huo Ran laughed.

Although that’s what Kou Chen said, he was actually a bit tipsy already. His tolerance was a lot better than everyone else, but it was really just that.

Huo Ran glanced at the bottle. The two of them drank six small bottles, that’s alright.

Kou Chen had inspected every bottle, making sure it didn’t say anything about separating or not being together. Kou Chen even wanted more, but there weren’t any more ‘lucky’ ones, so he gave up and stopped drinking.

And good thing he stopped when he did, because Kou Chen was singing nonstop once they left the restaurant.

Last time they went to sing karaoke and Huo Ran didn’t go, so today he got his share of songs. He sang for half an hour, with two or three lines from each song without repetition. 

Kou Chen knew quite a few songs, even singing a bunch in other languages.

His phone sounded, it was a message from Xu Zhifan.

-they’re locking the doors soon, what’s up with you two?

-dunno, he’s singing 

Huo Ran put his phone to Kou Chen’s mouth, and recorded a bit of him singing to send to the group chat.

Everyone started laughing, and they all forgot about what they should do if they can’t get back in time. They told him to record videos if he does anything crazier.

Only Xu Zhifan had some conscience remaining, and he reminded them after he finished laughing.

-we’ll cover for you when they check the dorms 

-if you can’t get in, go to the infirmary, you can open the back window from the outside and there’s two beds

“Fuck,” Huo Ran laughed, and sent a voice message, “You even know the window can be opened from the outside… If we really can’t make it then we’ll get a hotel room.”

“You guys don’t have ID.” Xu Zhifan said.

Ah. 

That’s a problem.

All they had between the two of them were two phones.

“What are you saying?” Kou Chen asked.

“We can’t make it back, it’s past curfew.” Huo Ran said. “We don’t have ID so we can’t go to a hotel, so Zhifan told us to sleep in the infirmary.” 

“No way,” Kou Chen said. “He and Xu Chuan stole the key?”

“…The back window can be opened from the outside, we can climb in.” Huo Ran said.

“Oh,” Kou Chen paused, and suddenly became excited, “Okay, we’ll sleep there. I’ve never done that before, so exciting. Can we fit in one bed?”

“There’s two beds.” Huo Ran said. 

“Okay, then we can push them together.” Kou Chen said.

“Why?” Huo Ran looked at him.

“I’m scared I’ll fall off, the beds are way too small.” Kou Chen said. “Last time I had a stomachache, I only fell asleep because I was scared to turn over.”

Climbing the fence and skipping class would be memories for many school boys, but there were probably a lot less that have ever slept in the infirmary. The two of them might be the only ones in the whole school. 

At the fence, Huo Ran was a bit worried: “I’ll go first.”

“Worried I’m drunk?” Kou Chen said.

“Not worried,” Huo Ran said. “You are drunk.”

Kou Chen didn’t say anything. He ran up to the wall, hoisted himself up, and disappeared over the top. 

“Fuck.” Huo Ran rushed to climb over and looked down.

Bbe Jtfc rwlifv ja tlw ogbw yfibk: “Vff atja? Tbeg Fcmif Bbe rajgafv milwylcu ofcmfr ktfc tf kjr atgff…”

“Glvc’a sbe ufa raemx bc abq?” Leb Ejc pewqfv vbkc.

“Qjs ab oemxlcu gelc atf wbbv.” Bbe Jtfc uijgfv ja tlw. 

“Jbwf bc.” Leb Ejc rjlv.

Ca atf klcvbk, Leb Ejc obiibkfv We Itlojc’r lcragemalbcr jcv veu ja atf ybaabw bo la. Ktf klcvbk bqfcfv j mgjmx, jcv klat jcbatfg qeii, la kjr bqfc.

The two of them jumped in quietly. Because it was so close to the gates and they were scared of the security seeing them, they didn’t turn on the lights. They felt around and washed up using the light shining in from the outside. 

“Guess we don’t have to push them ourselves,” Kou Chen patted the two beds that were already side by side. “Are there blankets in the cabinets?”

“Probably.” Huo Ran looked around.

The medicine cabinet was locked, but the one beside it wasn’t. There were only two thin blankets inside, but it would do.

As he turned around with blankets in arm, he saw that Kou Chen was standing by the bed with his shirt already off. 

“Are you serious?” Huo Ran was shocked. “We snuck in here, do you have to make yourself so comfortable?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Kou Chen said as he took off his pants as well. He patted the small of his back and laid down. “Gotta let the grim reaper get some fresh air.”

Huo Ran threw him a blanket in disbelief. He took off his jacket: “Hurry and pick which side you wanna sleep on. Get away from the middle, aren’t you scared you’ll fall through?”

Kou Chen moved towards the wall: “I’ll sleep on the inside.” 

“Why?” Huo Ran actually wanted to sleep on the inside, seeing as this was an unfamiliar… dark little room.

Kou Chen propped himself up and looked at him, before moving over again: “I’ll sleep on the outside.”

“Thanks.” Huo Ran said, crawling over Kou Chen to the other bed.

He immediately turned to face the wall. No matter how safe a wall was, it was still safer to have his back to a human. 

“Come on, let’s talk.” Kou Chen said to the back of his head. “You’re not fun at all.”

“This doesn’t affect us talking.” Huo Ran said.

Kou Chen laughed and moved closer to him: “I don’t know what to talk about actually, I just feel pretty happy today… Not at first, thinking about Old Yuan having to take the blame makes me upset, but eating and talking with you made me feel a lot better.”

“If Old Yuan has to take the blame, I’ll take it up with the principal.” Huo Ran said. 

“Together.” Kou Chen said.

“Mhm.” Huo Ran closed his eyes.

He didn’t remember how he fell asleep, nor what he and Kou Chen talked about, seeing as they drank.

He slept through the night like the dead. 

The next morning, he startled awake from someone smacking his face.

“Did you two want to get on the school news?” Xu Zhifan’s voice sounded from above him, “It’s already morning! Get up!”

Huo Ran startled awake a second time, and this time he was completely awake. 

He suddenly remembered that he and Kou Chen spent the night in the infirmary.

“Stop cuddling,” Xu Chuan’s voice sounded as well, “Hurry up, Dr. Zhang and Tao Rui are about to come!”

Huo Ran made to sit up, but halfway through the motion he fell back on the bed.

Kou Chen’s arm was around his waist. 

“Hey!” He turned around and saw that Kou Chen’s face was buried in his blanket. He reached out and smacked Kou Chen’s head, “Get up!”

“How much did he drink last night?” Xu Chuan tugged Kou Chen’s arm away and dragged him up.

“Three bottles of Jiangxiaobai.” Huo Ran said. “He was only a bit tipsy last night.”

“Kou Chen!” Xu Chuan patted Kou Chen’s face. 

“Ah, so annoying.” Kou Chen finally opened his eyes and muttered, “They’re not even here yet, what’s the rush?”

“It’ll be too late then!” Xu Chuan said. “Tao Rui’s alright, but there’s no way Dr. Zhang wouldn’t tell Old Yuan… Why did you strip?! You’re not in the dorms!”

Xu Zhifan threw Kou Chen his clothes: “Hurry.”

“Why didn’t you guys call us?” Huo Ran hurried out of bed and folded the blanket. “You wasted time running over.” 

“You think we didn’t? You two didn’t pick up!” Xu Zhifan said, “We called you…”

Before he could finish, they heard the sound of the door unlocking.

“Shit.” Xu Chuan grabbed Huo Ran’s blanket and flew towards the cabinet. As he was about to stuff it inside, the door opened.

They all froze on the spot. 

Tao Rui stood confused in the doorway with her keys in one hand, and breakfast in the other.

A couple seconds later, she turned around and said: “Kou Chen, put your clothes on first.”

“Oh.” Kou Chen jumped out of bed and scrambled to put his clothes on.

“Tao Rui-jie…” Xu Zhifan walked over, “It’s like this… We…” 

“I know,” Tao Rui said. “Stayed out past curfew, and knew that the window here could be opened from the outside, right?”

“…Yeah.” They all nodded.

“Was it just Kou Chen?” Tao Rui turned around.

“And me.” Huo Ran rubbed his eyes awkwardly. 

“Hurry and go,” Tao Rui stepped in the room and put her breakfast on the table. She waved them off, “Quickly, people are gonna come soon.”

“Thank you Jie.” They whispered, and ran out of the infirmary.

“There won’t be a next time!” Tao Ruin reminded them, “Next time I’ll call security!”

Because they woke up so late, it was already past breakfast time after they washed up and changed. Huo Ran and Kou Chen could only go straight to class.

Unexpectedly, Hu Yi had brought them both bread and milk.

“Holy shit, my lifesaver.” Huo Ran scarfed the food down.

“I’m starving.” Kou Chen said. 

Huo Ran startled and turned around: “Why are you sitting here again?”

“It wasn’t my decision,” Kou Chen said as he ate, “Xu Zhifan stole my seat.”

Huo Ran thought about it and realized that Xu Zhifan really was walking in front of them. He glanced over and saw that all of his damn focus was on his phone, so he didn’t get his signal at all.

The bell for morning self-study rang, and Old Yuan walked into the classroom as usual.

“Old Yuan, why aren’t you at home resting?” Wei Chaoren yelled.

The whole class turned around, and seeing Old Yuan, they all stood up without being told to.

“Sit down, sit down.” Old Yuan waved slightly, “I’m fine, I don’t even need surgery. It’s just a bit inconvenient with the brace.” 

As he walked up to the lectern, someone asked: “What’s gonna happen with the parents from yesterday?”

“A lecture, and they have to apologize and pay the medical fee.” Old Yuan said. “Don’t worry too much about it, the school will deal with the matter.”

“Just that? No charges? No explanation either?!” Someone yelled unhappily.

Old Yuan smiled, and didn’t say anything. When the class finally quieted down, he cleared his throat: “I didn’t mean for you to just take it as is, but sometimes, we can’t just do things out of anger without thinking.” 

“The school shouldn’t just care about students’ grades, but other areas as well, like each students’ physical and mental health.” Old Yuan said. “The student in question must not be happy about what happened either. No matter who that student is, we still wish to give them some leeway. We’re a school, so we prioritize learning, not punishment.”

They were all still a bit unsatisfied, and everyone broke into discussion.

“Let me say something else unrelated.” Old Yuan smiled. “It’s an old saying, that parents, family, and school will all affect a person, but in the end, you are the one that will decide what kind of person you want to be.”

“Afraid Li Jiaying can’t take it, right? Her parents and uncles came to school and fought a teacher because of her getting in a relationship,” Kou Chen whispered. “If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to come to school.” 

Kou Chen was pretty right with that. Before the second class ended, everyone found out that Li Jiaying came to school and said she wanted to drop out.

Everyone started talking about it. Some cursed her, some agreed with her request on behalf of the school, and some thought that her parents were at fault for it. But after a whole day of discussion, no one found out how the school was planning to deal with it.

At dinner, everyone moved their attention away from Li Jiaying and onto Old Yuan’s injuries and Sports Day. 

Huo Ran didn’t participate in any of the discussions. At first, he was a bit lost. Maybe because Li Jiaying’s story would be ending there, no matter if she decided to continue school until graduation, or if she decided to drop out. It was like how he had never seen He Hua again in the cafeteria, not knowing if she was taking a break, transferred away, or if she became a day student instead. After that fight in the cafeteria, it slowly moved to the back of everything related to the fight.

In ten years, I will still be pouring you wine.

What will he be saying then? Will he still remember these people?

It was a bit mystical. 

“I asked around, the strongest competitor for 100 metre dash is Liu Yu.” Jiang Lei said as he ate. “You’ve played basketball with him for a while, you should know, right?”

“Yeah, didn’t he win last year?” Huo Ran said.

“There isn’t anyone really good for 400, not many people signed up anyways, seeing as you need endurance and explosiveness.” Jiang Lei said. “I’m cheering for Kou Chen.” 

“What about 1000?” Kou Chen asked.

“Now that would be a lot. Apart from Zhou Haichao who you know, there’s also two first year athletes, and a bunch of pretty good second years in the sciences.” Jiang Lei tsked. “What a surprise, Kou Chen’s the only one from the humanities that signed up for 1000.”

“Our hope.” Wei Chaoren said.

“But I think,” Xu Chuan said. “Relay is the most stressful, since you’re representing our whole class.” 

“Don’t worry, you have Huo Ran and I.” Kou Chen said.

“Don’t talk so big, what if we lose?” Huo Ran said.

“Never crossed my mind.” Kou Chen raised an eyebrow.

This is the first event together with their new classmates, and Old Yuan attached great importance to it, saying that it would be a good chance to strengthen their class spirit and to build up honor, so everyone else supported it as well.

Even Huo Ran, who never wanted to be in the limelight, reluctantly agreed to bear the class slogan with Kou Chen.

Wu Xiaochen was at the front with the Humanities 1 sign, and the two of them were behind her, each holding a stick attached to the banner.

It was a bit silly, but Kou Chen looked really happy. 

“Should we wave it around at the podium?” He asked Huo Ran.

“No,” Huo Ran replied tersely. “Please just walk by like a normal person.”

“Alright.” Kou Chen smiled.

“Everyone, get ready!” Old Yuan said with a hand on his chest, “It’s our turn.” 

Everyone started to tidy their clothes, and Wu Xiaochen raised the sign over her head before turning to look at the two of them: “You guys better not mess up, you two are the most handsome guards here, everyone’s looking.”

“Guarding what?” Huo Ran asked.

“The sign,” Wu Xiaochen waved her sign, “This one.”

“…Okay.” Huo Ran nodded. 

The school field wasn’t that big, they only needed to walk halfway along the track, and past the podium they could leave and go line up.

The classes in front of them were pretty creative. Before them was Humanities 8 and they all wore hanfu

, in stark contrast to their class. They even collectively bowed as they passed the podium. 

Huo Ran was staring at them to see what they were doing, when Wu Xiaochen suddenly yelled out: “Youth is me!”

The whole class followed: “Youth is me! I am the best!”

Huo Ran startled, and immediately opened his mouth to catch up with the last part: “I am the best!”

They chanted it twice and walked to the podium, where the teachers all smiled at them. 

“One, two, three!” Xu Chuan gave the signal.

Then they all shouted: “Set sail and cut the waves!”

And then the signs were raised and waved around while the class shouted: “Nobody can stop me!”

“Nobody can stop me!” Kou Chen yelled brightly. 

Huo Ran felt good, and he yelled it out loudly too.

But he was shocked when Kou Chen started to shake the banner crazily: “What are you doing!”

“Come on!” Kou Chen said, before shouting with everyone else, “I am the best!”

Huo Ran felt that there was probably something wrong with himself as he shouted and waved the banner along with Kou Chen. 

Oh the sorrow!