Li Huangxuan, that clueless fellow, insisted on going for a nap with Zhuang Zi'ang.
Su Yudie then bid them farewell and returned to her classroom.
Zhuang Zi'ang shot Li Huangxuan a murderous glance.
You beast, I'm afraid I can't keep you.
Zhuang Zi'ang had brought Li Huangxuan to this two-bedroom apartment rented by Xu Hui before, but this time it looked much tidier and more pleasing to the eye.
Two lively goldfish swimming in the tank also added a touch of life to the home.
"This feels really nice, I also want to move out and live alone."
Zhuang Zi'ang rolled his eyes at him: "Isn't your 180-square-meter duplex comfortable enough?"
Li Huangxuan laughed: "Forgive me, for my life is uninhibited and I love freedom."
This kid, he truly doesn't know how good he has it.
Zhuang Zi'ang thought to himself, if he had such a happy family, how could he bear to run away from home?
After taking off their shoes, the two lay side by side on the bed, staring at the blank white ceiling.
Sleepiness hadn't arrived yet, so they chatted first.
"Son, Su Yudie is too beautiful, are you pursuing her?" Li Huangxuan asked gossipy.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I've only known her for three days." Zhuang Zi'ang immediately denied it.
"A girl like that can easily make someone fall in love at first sight, why are you pretending to be a big bad wolf?" Li Huangxuan ruthlessly exposed him.
This beast, Zhuang Zi'ang, became energetic the moment he saw Su Yudie.
In the words of Animal Planet, this was a sign of being in heat.
They were chatting nicely, but facing this question, a pang of pain rose in Zhuang Zi'ang's heart again.
His voice was low as he said, "I won't pursue her, I'm not worthy."
A person with only three months left to live, pursuing a girl, wouldn't that be harming her?
He was no longer worthy of love.
Li Huangxuan was bewildered by Zhuang Zi'ang's sudden melancholy.
He nudged Zhuang Zi'ang: "You're not pursuing such a lovely girl, are you sick?"
Zhuang Zi'ang still stared at the ceiling, smiling sadly: "Yes, I am sick."
Li Huangxuan didn't understand his deeper meaning, only thinking he had gone crazy.
Or perhaps he had long coveted the girl's body but was unwilling to admit it.
After a moment of silence, Zhuang Zi'ang suddenly asked: "Son, if we can't see each other anymore, will you miss me?"
"I'll miss your big head, get as far away from me as possible, I'm already so jealous of you, you're handsome and good at studying, making me look like a complete waste." Li Huangxuan complained incessantly.
"I'm the one who's sick in the head, being friends with the top student."
"If anything is slightly off at home, my parents use you as an example to provoke me."
"Why are you so annoying? If you didn't exist in this world, I'd really buy a string of firecrackers to celebrate."
...Zhuang Zi'ang turned slightly, and a tear silently slid onto the pillow.
Scenes from the past flashed through his mind.
On the first day of school, he met Li Huangxuan, and they quickly became sworn father and son.
This guy was carefree, guileless, always seemed to be missing a few screws, and never knew what sadness was.
He truly treated Zhuang Zi'ang like his own son.
When Zhuang Zi'ang was class monitor, he was always his staunchest supporter.
Whenever there were class activities, he always participated actively, which facilitated Zhuang Zi'ang's work.
When Zhuang Zi'ang and Lin Mushi had rumors, he enthusiastically helped clarify them.
He claimed that Lin Mushi's secret crush was actually him, and he was chased around the ping-pong table by the school beauty for dozens of laps.
Whenever his family made delicious food, he always invited Zhuang Zi'ang over.
Even Li Tianyun and Fan Ling joked that it was as if they had two sons.
Li Huangxuan got tired of complaining, and his eyelids gradually grew heavy.
Zhuang Zi'ang heard snoring beside him, and only then did he turn over and stare at Li Huangxuan's profile.
Growing up in such a family environment, it was fortunate to meet such a good friend, so that his entire youth wouldn't be remembered as entirely bitter.
Son, promise me, when I'm gone, don't be too sad.
It's best if you do as you said, buy a string of firecrackers and set them off, to send me off.
If you see the ending of "Detective Conan" in your lifetime, please burn a set for me.
Over there, I will bless you with a lifetime of peace.
Heavy-hearted, Zhuang Zi'ang never fell asleep.
Between sleep and wakefulness, he heard the alarm clock.
Li Huangxuan beside him, however, was sleeping like a pig, drool trickling down his cheek.
Zhuang Zi'ang kicked him off the bed: "If you stain my new bedsheet, I'll break three of your legs."
Li Huangxuan rolled over, sprang onto the bed, and wrestled with Zhuang Zi'ang.
"Rebellious son, trying to kill your father?"
The happiness between boys is that simple.
Walking to school, Li Huangxuan was like a hyperactive child, air-dribbling one moment, kicking pebbles on the road the next.
Zhuang Zi'ang pointed at a ginkgo tree by the roadside: "Can you touch that leaf?"
Li Huangxuan wiped his nose, full of confidence: "What do you say if I touch it?"
"You're awesome," Zhuang Zi'ang laughed.
These four words were the highest praise among boys.
To win this honor, they would go to great lengths.
Li Huangxuan took a few running steps, leaped up, and plucked the large ginkgo leaf.
Ginkgo is a tree species unique to China, having witnessed hundreds of millions of years of long history.
Compared to it, humans are as insignificant as dust.
In spring and summer, ginkgo leaves are green, but in autumn, they turn yellow and dance in the wind, like butterflies.
For Zhuang Zi'ang, ginkgo now held another layer of special meaning.
He would never forget the moment he first met Su Yudie under the ginkgo tree, a moment of breathtaking beauty.
"Isn't Dad amazing?" Li Huangxuan proudly handed the ginkgo leaf to Zhuang Zi'ang: "This leaf only looks good when it turns yellow in autumn."
"Autumn is so far away, I might not see it," Zhuang Zi'ang murmured to himself.
Li Huangxuan was puzzled, always feeling that Zhuang Zi'ang had been acting strange these past two days.
But then he thought, it was only natural.
Being friends with such a beautiful girl, and even seemingly having a lot of potential, he himself would probably become abnormal too.
The third class in the afternoon had just started for ten minutes.
Zhang Zhiyuan came to the classroom door, apologized to the teacher, and then called Zhuang Zi'ang out.
The students were all puzzled; Teacher Zhang had been calling Zhuang Zi'ang out too frequently lately.
Wasn't he not the class monitor anymore?
"Teacher Zhang, you call me out every day, and the students' eyes are getting weirder and weirder when they look at me."
In the corridor, Zhuang Zi'ang complained.
"No choice, your father is here," Zhang Zhiyuan spread his hands.
"What is he doing here?" Zhuang Zi'ang was surprised.
Ever since Zhuang Zi'ang started school here, Zhuang Wenzhao had only come once, on the first day of school registration.
He stayed for half an hour, received a call from his company, and then left in a hurry.
Since then, whether it was the end of the semester, the beginning of school, or parent-teacher conferences, he always made excuses.
Sometimes, he even bothered to make up excuses, and even said with conviction: "You're not a child anymore, do you still need parents to pick you up and drop you off?"
Zhuang Zi'ang could only smile bitterly.
When I was a child, I didn't see you pick me up or drop me off either!