Xie Yu kept his eyes closed and didn't open them.

Everything was black in front of him, but his other senses became more acute.

Like his breathing, heartbeat, and the intertwined fingers of the two people.

Xie Yu felt very calm, without the inexplicable emotions he had before, and he also didn't feel like hitting anyone. He could spare He Chao's dog life for a while longer.

That kind of inexplicable irritability seemed to have found an outlet - a certain answer that had been hidden before suddenly surfaced.

Perhaps it had pointed to that answer countless times before.

There was almost no sound in the car, except for Wan Da's dreamy murmurs in the front and the sound of traffic outside the window. 

As the evening approached and the light dimmed, the car entered the tunnel. Wan Da smacked his lips and woke up, confused and frightened as he asked, "Where are my disco lights? Where's the lighting technician?"

Talking about music and dancing, and now still asking for the lighting, it seemed like this kid had a dream of becoming an international superstar.

After Wan Da finished speaking, Xie Yu felt that He Chao's hand was somewhat stiff. He seemed very nervous, even his breathing became lighter.

Fortunately, Wan Da only said a few words before dozing off again.

He Chao moved his fingers, hesitating whether to let go or not. 

After a long moment of hesitation, he ultimately didn't move. 

He couldn't bear to let go.

The red light passed, and the car continued to move forward, the fare slowly increasing from the starting price. 

After what felt like a long time, the scenery along the way became more and more familiar. Finally, they turned onto a small road near No. 2 High School, where the tallest teaching building with the school motto engraved on the roof was not far away.

"This should be it," the driver said as he turned. "The school looks impressive. What year are you in?"

"Second year." 

"Second year, huh. My son is in his third year, one year older than you guys," the driver continued. "Students are working hard these days. They have to stay up late every night to finish their homework. I think studying is important, but you also need to take care of your health."

Xie Yu was feeling particularly tired from pretending to be asleep. His neck was sore from leaning awkwardly against the back of the seat.

He Chao replied intermittently to his chatter. With at the school approaching. He wanted to take advantage of Xie Yu's inattention and loosen his hand secretly: "Yes, it's quite tiring. I wish your son good luck on his college entrance exam..." 

His words abruptly stopped here.

Because as He Chao was about to finish speaking, his hand loosened slightly. But then Xie Yu's seemingly weak and passive fingers suddenly tightened, pressing against the back of his hand and entwining with his own.

"..."

This time, He Chao was truly stunned.

The driver continued to talk about his son. "My son's lost so much weight in three years of high school. It's tough, but everyone goes through it. No one can escape it. But once you get into university, it'll be easier. All the hard work will be worth it..."

No one was really listening to his rambling words.

The driver's incessant chatter fell on deaf ears. In the remaining few minutes, the two of them sat there with their fingers intertwined, not speaking or looking at each other. It wasn't until the car came to a stop and the driver waited for payment that they realized they had arrived at their destination. "Isn't this No. 2 High School? We've reached." the driver asked, noticing their lack of response.

Xie Yu remained calm as he looked at He Chao and lightly moved his fingers, causing He Chao to snap out of his daze and hastily fumble for money. 

He couldn't even count properly, paying twenty yuan out of the thirty yuan fare.

The driver, holding the twenty yuan bill, was a bit puzzled. "Do you know how to count?" 

Xie Yu couldn't help but scold him 'idiot' under his breath. The slight sense of discomfort that had been building up inside him had completely dissipated.

"Thirty, right, thirty," He Chao searched for a while and finally found a ten yuan bill, "Sorry, I misheard."

Xie Yu went to the passenger seat, bent down and patted Wan Da's face, pulling him out.

Wan Da's feet felt like they were stepping on cotton as he shook his head and asked, "Ah? Is it my turn to go up on stage?"

"Yes, superstar," Xie Yu said, "It's your turn."

Wan Da was very happy, looking at the few streetlights that hadn't lit up yet, feeling like he was in the center of a stage: "What song do you want to hear?"

Xie Yu pulled his collar and dragged him towards the school, "How about 'Loyalty to the Country'?"

Wan Da immediately frowned.

Ever since 'Loyalty to the Country' was set as the wake-up music by Head Teacher Jiang, it had become an indelible shadow in the hearts of every dormitory student. 

After paying, He Chao came over to help. The two of them supported Wan Da, one on each side. There were countless times where they wanted to say something, but found that nothing was appropriate to say.

In addition to that, they had to endure Wan Da's intermittent drunkenness. For example, when they were going up the stairs, he suddenly shouted, "Friends in the audience, let me see your hands!"

When he couldn't see any hands, he would cling to the stair railing and refuse to move. 

"These are stairs, not the stage. Why didn't I feel that you were so annoying before?" He Chao was really fed up. "Don't force me to beat you up."

Wan Da held onto the stair railing, insisting on his own dignity as a superstar. 

Xie Yu sat on the stairs, watching the show as if it had nothing to do with him.

Then he watched He Chao step back a few steps, waving his hands a few times to satisfy Wan Da's needs. 

Wan Da happily waved at him, "My fan." 

Xie Yu covered half of his face with one hand and chuckled, "Is this what you call a beating?"

"You dare to laugh," He Chao reminded him, "Don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to uphold."

The next day was the start of classes and everyone had began returning to the dorms from noon onwards. When they sent the "superstar" back to his room, Wan Da's roommates were all present. Xie Yu leaned against the doorway and said three words, "All the best."

His two roommates didn't understand what "all the best" meant until Wan Da started dancing on the bed, "My god, how much did he drink?"

"Help take care of him a little," He Chao asked. "If you really can't stand it, just knock him out with a stick."

As they left Wan Da's room, the tense atmosphere from earlier returned. 

Xie Yu suddenly remembered that when he was in the second year of his middle school, Zhou Dalei was pursuing his crush. He heard that the girl liked talented guys, so he played the guitar and wrote songs himself. He would sing on the street all day, holding his broken guitar and singing, "Oh baby, you are the thorny rose..."

Every time he practiced, he would receive many small gifts from the people of Blackwater Street - pots, pans, even bricks. Only Da Mei would cheer him on, saying, "Brother, you're not bad, believe in yourself."

"Really? Is it really not bad?"

Zhou Dalei's wounded heart clearly needed more comfort, so he turned his gaze to Xie Yu. Xie Yu took out the earplugs from his ears and asked mercilessly, "You're done singing?" 

Faced with Xie Yu's outrageous words and actions, Zhou Dalei held his guitar and said gloomily, "Boss Xie, you've never loved anyone, so you don't understand love."

Xie Yu has always been indifferent in matters of the heart.

But not expressing himself didn't mean not understanding.

He doesn't like to beat around the bush. When there's something to say, it should be said directly, to avoid trouble.

In the past, there was also someone who secretly loved him but didn't dare to confess, yet it somehow became a big fuss, as though there was really something going on. Even Dalei came over and winked, "I heard that someone, that one, have you two..."

The next day, Xie Yu went directly to find the person and said only two sentences.

- Do you like me?

- I'm sorry, I don't like you.

He Chao was also a burden, and a big burden that would drag him down.

At this point, they couldn't both pretend to be ignorant. 

Xie Yu's thinking was simple: if there's something then speak your mind, on what you're thinking and what you want.

As he approached the door of his dorm room, He Chao's mind was still exploding with fireworks, just like when he couldn't even count thirty yuan earlier. By the time he realized what was happening, he had already opened the door, walked in, and closed the door behind him.

Xie Yu, who watched the idiot go through the whole process of entering the dorm room: "..."

Is there something wrong with this guy's brain?

Xie Yu walked over, planning to knock on the door. Before he could actually knock, it opened again.

He Chao stood at the door and said, "I..."

Xie Yu interrupted him, "Are you drunk."

"No," He Chao was a bit stunned, but quickly realized what Xie Yu meant. He paused and asked, "Then are you...drunk?"

"You idiot, what do you think." Xie Yu replied.

He wasn't drunk. 

It wasn't because of the alcohol. 

It wasn't a sudden impulse.

"Before, you still called me 'Brother Chao', how did it become 'idiot' again?"

"Because you're an idiot."

"..."

There were sounds of luggage wheels rolling in the corridor, and a few people were rowdily coming down from upstairs.

The two of them childishly exchanged insults for a few rounds, and then Xie Yu stood in the midst of the noise and said softly, "He Chao, you were the one who provoked me first."

You were the one who provoked me first.

Invading his life with so much noise.

Insisting on breaking through all his defenses.

As soon as Xie Yu finished speaking, He Chao grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the room. Xie Yu's back hit the door panel and it hurt a little. "Fuck, what are you doing?"

The two of them were very close, and He Chao's hand was propped up against Xie Yu's ear. He couldn't hold it in any longer. Even if he was beaten to a pulp after saying it, he was still willing.

"I...have never liked anyone." 

"In front of me, this little friend named Xie Yu is the first."

He Chao didn't know how to express himself and didn't have much experience in confessing. As Shen Jie would say, he had a low emotional intelligence. He paused for a moment and continued, "Although he has a bad temper and often hits people, I still really like him."

"..."

"I seriously like him, every time I see him, I feel happy and I want to date him. I like him so much it hurts," He Chao finished and then asked, "Did that little friend with a bad temper hear me?"

The little friend with a bad temper really wanted to hit someone right now. 

Who talks like that? 

Is he asking for a beating?

"I've never liked anyone before," Xie Yu said, holding back his urge to hit someone. 

"The idiot named He Chao in front of me is the first."