The feeling of two people pushing a cart and throwing things into it was quite wonderful. Every now and then, they would ask each other if they wanted to eat this or that. Xie Yu couldn't help but think of the phrase "living together".

As they were still wearing their uniforms from No. 2 High School, they had to sneak around to hold hands. Whenever there was no one around, they would hold hands for a little while.

"Do you want to try this?" He Chao leaned in close, and from a distance, it looked like two boys huddled together talking. "It's a new flavor. Want to give it a taste?"

Xie Yu took a glance at the packaging, which read 'Green Pepper Flavor'. "If you want to die, I won't stop you."

"Should be okay," said He Chao as he enjoyed buying new and exotic snacks that no one else dared to try. "Last time I bought some mustard flavored ones, and I thought they were pretty good. But Shen Jie snatched them away and almost threw up after eating them."

After all, snacks couldn't be the main course. They picked a few items and stopped browsing as the noise around them grew louder. Xie Yu wanted to let go, but He Chao held on.

"There are people around."

"No, there's no one."

He Chao spoke with conviction, but before he could finish his sentence, someone tugged on his pants. He looked down to see a little girl with two braids on her head, around four or five years old, and very small in stature. She spoke in a soft and sweet voice, calling him "big brother."

He Chao: "..."

Where did she come from? Why was there no sound at all.

"Brother, I want that one," said the chubby little girl, pointing her fingers at the shelf. Her speech was still a bit unclear: "The strawberry flavor."

Xie Yu followed her gaze and saw a bag of jelly with a cartoon head printed on the packaging. However, it was placed a bit high, at least too high for this little bean to jump and reach.

"Take it, big brother," Xie Yu walked two steps to the side and said, "Strawberry flavor."

The strawberry flavor was at the back, and He Chao temporarily moved the outer bags to the side, using one hand to support them to prevent them from falling. Xie Yu's "big brother" almost made him lose his grip.

Xie Yu's voice was originally cold, and coupled with the fact that he often spoke in an unpleasant manner, it was particularly alluring when he softened up.

The little girl was still staring at the jelly with eager eyes, her longing almost overflowing. He Chao took out the bag from inside, put the ones on the side back, and said to Xie Yu word by word, "You wait for me."

The jelly bag wasn't big, but the little girl still needed to hold it with both hands to keep it steady. She said crisply, "Thank you, big brother."

After taking the bag of jelly down, He Chao squatted down and chatted with her, "Why are you alone? Children shouldn't run around."

"My mom is over there," the little girl pointed to the woman on the other side who was weighing bulk candy. She had long hair and looked gentle from behind. After pointing, the little girl shouted "Mom" and waved goodbye to them, saying, "...Goodbye, big brother."

He Chao patted her head and fished out a candy from his pocket for her, smiling as he said, "Goodbye."

It was a very ordinary scene, but Xie Yu felt that the arrogant and willful boy had softened and become incredibly warm.

After the little girl walked away, they had finished their shopping on this floor and would go to the drinks section to get two bottles of water later.

The mall was small, with only two floors and few customers, so they could walk around half the floor in just a few steps.

"What did you just call me?" He Chao leaned in and whispered in his ear.

Xie Yu pushed the cart to the side and tilted his head, "Are you trying to settle the score?"

Before He Chao could respond, Xu Qingqing and her friends came over from the opposite direction, and their carts collided. "Have you finished shopping?"

Wan Da's shopping cart was filled with snacks, with three or four bags of potato chips alone. Xu Qingqing had mostly sweet treats, taking several different desserts.

Xie Yu said, "No."

He Chao added, "We still need two bottles of water."

Wan Da looked down at his cart and said, "I need water too. Perfect, let's go together."

There were two rows of drinks in the beverage section, with shelves full of options. Wan Da pushed his cart around, finally wavering between Coke and Sprite.

He Chao put a bottle of juice back and, not giving up on the conversation, said, "You, just now..."

After hesitating, Wan Da grabbed a bottle of Coke and hummed a tune as he walked towards them.

Xie Yu didn't give He Chao a chance to continue, wanting to tease him. He pointed to the bottle of water on his right and whispered in his ear, "Big brother, I want that one."

"..."

He Chao was teased mercilessly by him, his temper deflated, and could only shout in his heart: Unbearable.

Although these words sounded satisfying as hell, in front of so many people, he could only hold back any thoughts. It was like playing with fire, and the little friend was having a blast.

He Chao took the bottle of mineral water and checked the date before handing it over to him. "I'll clean you up once we're back."

Xie Yu took the water and felt that this behavior was really childish. He couldn't help but lean against the shelf and laugh.

"Brother Qing went to buy board games," Wan Da didn't notice what the two people next to him were talking about. He grabbed a bottle of soda and threw it into the shopping cart, then turned his head and asked, "Should we go take a look?"

"Where is it?"

"The entertainment area?" Wan Da stood on tiptoe and looked around in the crowd, catching sight of a familiar and bold figure in a No. 2 High School uniform. "I see her!"

When Xie Yu and the others arrived, Xu Qingqing had already been struggling with which version of the adventure game to buy for a long time. "According to the description, one is the regular version, and the other is the enhanced version. You guys came just in time. Which one should I buy?"

He Chao looked at it for a while but couldn't decide, so he said, "Why don't we just buy both?"

Xie Yu didn't even look at it and said, "Then don't buy it."

Xu Qingqing said, "...Are you two for real?"

In the end, Wan Da relied on the law of fate and had Xu Qingqing pick between her left and right hand with her eyes closed.

"This one!" Wan Da handed her the enhanced version. "It's fate! Don't hesitate anymore, Brother Qing, it's decided!"

Xie Yu casually looked around and spotted a deck of cards in the corner with the words "Horror Game" on the cover. Intrigued, he reached for it, but his hand was immediately stopped by He Chao. Xie Yu watched as He Chao slyly stuffed the deck deep into the pile, making it invisible to the naked eye: "..."

He was clearly afraid of being caught by Wan Da, who would undoubtedly want to play another lively game of "Pen Fairy".

Xie Yu couldn't help but chuckle, "Are you scared?"

He Chao replied, "This has nothing to do with being scared. We need to eliminate feudal superstitions, and it starts with me."

Their movements were swift, and by the time they returned to school with their bags, they had just started evening self-study. Old Tang, taking into account their special circumstances, gave them a little extra time to prepare their things and allowed them to put their belongings back in their dorm before coming to class.

As soon as Xie Yu put down his things and washed his hands, not even drying them, he saw He Chao waiting for him at the door. "What's up?" he asked.

He Chao closed the door after he walked in: "Cleaning you up."

Xie Yu wasn't too fond of getting close to others. Every time Madam Gu mentioned his childhood, she would proudly and anxiously say, "Other kids would reach out to be held, but you, besides me and your dad, no one else was allowed to touch you."

Perhaps he couldn't quite grasp the art of human interaction.

But only He Chao, only this idiot, would make him have thoughts of getting closer.

When He Chao leaned in to kiss him, Xie Yu suddenly realized that he hadn't thought about a future with this person.

He and He Chao met like an incredible accident, colliding together in a way that was even more dazzling than fireworks. But he was afraid that it was just a fleeting moment. Who knows what the future holds? Life is so long, and no one can say for sure what will happen.

But there was a voice in his subconscious that said, you've thought about this before.

You want to be with this idiot forever.

He Chao said he was going to teach him a lesson, but he only kissed him fiercely: "You were messing with me on purpose, hmm?" he asked.

Both of them were hot-blooded and stubborn, neither willing to back down. In the end, Xie Yu's leg hit the edge of the bed and he stumbled backwards, falling onto the bed.

He Chao propped himself up with one hand on his neck, keeping a distance between them. He was afraid of crushing him, but also afraid of losing control.

However, Xie Yu stared at him for a while, then took the initiative to approach him and pressed his lips against his.

Xie Yu's hand was still a little wet, cold and icy, and was pressed against He Chao's wrist.

He Chao lost his last bit of sanity.

The dormitory bed was not sturdy, and even a slight movement at night would make the bed creak, let alone now with two people on it. He Chao's hand slowly explored Xie Yu's clothes, first pinching the soft flesh on his waist, then unable to resist moving upwards. The boy's skin was delicate and his reactions were inexperienced.

Xie Yu couldn't take it anymore and had a feeling that things were getting out of hand. "Brother..."

Hearing this, He Chao stopped and paused for a moment. He removed his hand from the warmth and removed it from under the little friend's clothes. Then, he lowered his head and lightly bit on Xie Yu's neck before saying, "Damn, I'm hard again."

"You don't need to emphasize it again," Xie Yu half-sat up, leaning against the pillow and looking at him. "I've been pressed by your thing for a while."

He Chao cleared his throat and said, "You're not any better. Should I help you out?"

As He Chao spoke, he reached out to touch Xie Yu's thigh through his school pants. Just as his fingers were about to move up, Xie Yu kicked him away and said, "Get lost."

He Chao didn't even realize when his jacket had been taken off during their intense movements. He stood up, bent down to pick up his clothes from the ground, and asked again at the door before leaving, "Really don't need my help?"

In response, Xie Yu threw a pillow back at him.

After taking a cold shower, it took Xie Yu almost half an hour to cool down. When he turned off the shower, the chill had passed, but he still felt hot.

After Wan Da finishing packing his things, he lingered in the dormitory for a while, secretly playing two rounds of games. When he remembered that he had to go to class, he went upstairs to find the two big shots to walk with him.

When he knocked on the door and went in, he found that both of them had changed their clothes and their hair was wet, dripping with water. Wan Da swallowed his words when he saw them and asked, "Why are you taking a shower at this time?"

This question was really hard to answer, and He Chao was at a loss for words. He stood at the door and looked at Xie Yu across from him, gesturing for him to speak.

Xie Yu hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth and said four words, "What's it to you?"

He Chao: "..."

Wan Da: "..."

After waiting for what seemed like forever, the day of the autumn outing finally arrived for all the second-year students.

The destination was chosen from the classic school outing package, which included a large park with an amusement park and beautiful scenery, perfect for taking photos and relaxing. There were also activities like a shooting range and a small theater.

Early in the morning, the entire floor was in chaos. Head Teacher Jiang came and said a few words, but it only temporarily quieted them down. Once Head Teacher Jiang left, they continued to make noise.

Liu Cunhao opened his bag in front of everyone and showed off what he brought: "Look, I brought a bag of Lay's chips, a loaf of bread, and some gum...we can all share later."

He Chao wasn't impressed: "Let me show you what I brought with Old Xie. Have you ever tried green pepper flavor? You probably haven't in your whole life."

Xie Yu raised his hand to press on his forehead and reminded, "That's yours, don't bring me into this."

"What's mine is yours."

"...Forget it."

Today, Old Tang wore a blue sportswear, probably trying to show his youthful energy. However, on his slightly chubby body, it looked more suitable for him to sit on a rocking chair and slowly sway.

"I have a few important things to say," Old Tang held a schedule in his hand and picked up a chalk, "Let's divide into groups and choose a leader. You all have my phone number, right? If you don't, I'll write it down again...If you need anything, just call me or find the tour guide."

There were over thirty students in the class, and they were free to form groups. They were divided themselves into five groups.

The only purpose of going out to play is to have fun. Liu Cunhao is usually in charge as the class representative and finds it annoying, so this time he doesn't want to be the team leader and hands the position over to He Chao. "Brother Chao, actually, I noticed from the first day of school that you are not to be underestimated. The brilliance on you, your leadership talent - you are simply a rare talent, unmatched by anyone."

Xie Yu laughed when he heard this.

He Chao waved his hand, indicating for him to stop. "Okay, okay, I understand what you mean."

When He Chao was counting the number of people, Luo Wenqiang also wanted to join their group. He Chao casually said, "You can't come, you eat too much."

Liu Cunhao followed up, "I also think it's not a good idea."

Luo Wenqiang was shocked, "Are there really people like you guys? What happened to loving your classmates?"

Xie Yu watched the whole scene unfold, but when Luo Wenqiang had nowhere else to turn, he came to Xie Yu for help. The muscular young man looked at Xie with a pitiful expression and said, "Brother Xie, can you help me out?"

He Chao interjected, "Don't call him Brother Xie, it's useless. Brother Xie is my...on my side."

Thankfully, he caught himself before he almost said "my boyfriend".

Xie Yu thought for a moment and decided to give his boyfriend some face. "Mm, asking me for help is useless."

Luo Wenqiang: "..."

Meanwhile, Old Tang was still giving instructions. "When we go out, remember to keep things clean. Don't litter at the scenic spots. Let's show our youthfulness and good manners..."

Everyone nodded and replied half-heartedly, "Okay, got it."

Luo Wenqiang refused to give up, his fingers trembling in the air: "Fine, I see through you all now. The so-called friendship was all fake."

He Chao added Luo Wenqiang's name to the list and gestured for him to leave: "Enough already, if you speak anymore nonsense, I really won't add you to the group."

It wasn't until the tour guide entered the classroom that things quieted down.

He was a man wearing a red cap and holding a microphone. He had a hearty laugh and greeted everyone as he entered: "Hello, students!"

Then each group leader handed over their group list to the tour guide. When he received He Chao's group's list, Xie Yu could clearly sense the confusion in the tour guide's eyes, as if he was asking: What's written here, what are these names?"

Xie Yu tore a piece of paper from his notebook and wrote down the names of the six people in his group again.