Do I Look Green to You?

Zhuang Fanxin had never imagined that Wang Churan would actually have a crush on him.

He patted the Sports Committee Member in front of him and leaned over to ask, "Bro, between you and Lin Xiao'an, who pursued whom?"

"That's my private business." The Sports Committee Member said this, but his body honestly turned around. "A handsome guy like me who dares to think and act, of course I was the one who pursued her."

Zhuang Fanxin consulted, "Did you confess directly?"

"Are you stupid?" the Sports Committee Member said. "No one confesses directly. Whenever someone musters the courage to confess, it's because they're more than half-confident the other person will agree. It's just about breaking through that final barrier."

Zhuang Fanxin wouldn't have known if he hadn't asked, but he was startled by the answer. That greeting card from Wang Churan... could it be that she was also confident he would agree? Where did this confidence come from?

The Sports Committee Member said secretively, "Let me teach you. If you're interested in someone, just look at her. Look at her during morning reading, look at her during the noon break. After you've caught her attention a few times by looking, and you hold her gaze for a few seconds without looking away, she'll get it."

Zhuang Fanxin got it too.

Back when he mistakenly thought Gu Zhuoyan liked Qin Wei or Wang Churan, he had been observing in secret, glancing over from time to time to see if they were interacting. Sometimes, when Wang Churan noticed his gaze, he would just give her a silly grin.

So the root of the trouble had been planted long ago. What a sin!

Gu Zhuoyan came back from the office. Having skipped class for half a day, he got a harsh scolding and was given a stack of paper to write a two-thousand-word self-criticism. His hands were full, so he couldn't get up to any mischief when passing the third row. Zhuang Fanxin, however, habitually poked his thigh.

"Hiss." Gu Zhuoyan bent over. "A little more force and it'll be a fracture."

Zhuang Fanxin lifted his head, glaring at him as if he were the culprit. The teacher came in to start class, and Gu Zhuoyan quickly returned to his seat. The first period was English. Everyone except the class representative was listening attentively. Zhuang Fanxin spent 45 minutes pondering how to politely reject Wang Churan.

There was no chance during the break; the classroom and hallway were too crowded. The second and third periods were back-to-back chemistry quizzes, and under Xia Wei's watchful eye, he didn't dare touch his phone to send a text.

He endured until the fourth period, PE class. Zhuang Fanxin sat under the parallel bars by the track, waiting for Wang Churan to walk past on her stroll around the track so he could go over and make things clear.

Before he even saw a shadow of Wang Churan, Gu Zhuoyan ran over from the court, calling to him, "Come on, let's go play ball."

Zhuang Fanxin said, "I don't feel like playing today."

Gu Zhuoyan said, "We only have two PE classes a week, you're not going to cherish them?"

"Aiya..." Zhuang Fanxin shooed him away. "Anyway, it's not convenient for me today."

He'd thrown a tantrum for no reason this morning, and now he was saying it wasn't convenient. Gu Zhuoyan's expression shifted. "Are you on your period?"

Zhuang Fanxin shot up. "Are you crazy!" Humiliated and enraged, he turned, lifted a leg, and started climbing onto the parallel bars. "I want to practice gymnastics today, don't bother me!"

He got up, twisting his waist to straddle the bar, his butt sticking out a bit. Zhuang Fanxin paused on the bar in a rather sexy pose. Gu Zhuoyan couldn't stand to watch. He grabbed Zhuang Fanxin's waist, lifted him, and straightened him out, making Zhuang Fanxin sit properly.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment. Zhuang Fanxin finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "I received a love letter."

Gu Zhuoyan frowned. "Who wrote it?"

"Wang Churan."

Probably in shock, Gu Zhuoyan paused for a moment before retorting, "You were trying to play matchmaker for me back then, weren't you? Well, now it's backfired on you."

Zhuang Fanxin lowered his head. "I thought you might like her before, so I was always looking at her. I even helped her carry her biology homework."

"So this is my fault now?" Gu Zhuoyan laughed in exasperation. "My grandpa said that your type is exactly what little girls like. You can draw, you're romantic, and your personality is infuriatingly nice. You're so good to everyone, how could you not make a little girl's heart pound?"

Zhuang Fanxin muttered, "Doesn't it also attract a gay guy like you?"

"Yes, you have your appeal in all circles." Gu Zhuoyan patted his butt. "Good thing I made the first move. Otherwise, if a girl confessed to you, you'd be so pleased with yourself you'd probably nod and agree to start dating her."

"I'd only agree if I liked her."

"You dare? You just try liking someone." Gu Zhuoyan issued a stern warning. "Hurry up and reject her. In person, by letter, even by email, get this handled for me today. You ran from me faster than a rabbit back then. If you dare to dawdle now, watch out or I'll..."

Zhuang Fanxin flicked his gaze up. "You'll do what?"

Gu Zhuoyan said, "As someone who's openly out, what wouldn't I do? Don't provoke me."

He caught the quiver at the corner of Zhuang Fanxin's lips. He was smiling, a hint of smugness hidden in his eyes. Gu Zhuoyan suddenly understood. This little rascal wasn't confessing for leniency, he was deliberately trying to hear the sound of his vinegar jar shattering.

Gu Zhuoyan, worn down and out of patience, said, "You're quite pleased with yourself, aren't you?"

Zhuang Fanxin said, "Yu Yao wrote you so many love letters, and now someone has written me one too."

"Is it necessary to be so vain?" Gu Zhuoyan was completely bewildered. Recalling the past love letters, he hesitated slightly. "What did Wang Churan write in her love letter to you?"

Zhuang Fanxin's face reddened. "How could I say it? Don't ask."

"Was it very passionate?" Gu Zhuoyan pressed. Zhuang Fanxin broke free from his grip, jumped down from the parallel bars, and actually ran away in embarrassment.

After PE class ended, they went straight to the cafeteria. The boys, all sweaty, crowded around the drink window. Gu Zhuoyan bought three bottles, drank one himself, and gave two to Zhuang Fanxin, saying, "Wang Churan is sitting over there. Go on."

Zhuang Fanxin said apprehensively, "What if our classmates see and misunderstand?"

"Who's paying attention to you?" Straight guys don't have that kind of mindset; their minds are still on basketball. They might not even snap out of it by the time school ends. Gu Zhuoyan instructed, "I'll buy claypot rice and wait for you. I'll get you an extra egg."

Zhuang Fanxin went over, clutching the two sodas, feeling quite scared. In fourth grade, the hygiene committee member said she liked him. He said, "I don't like you," and the little girl expanded his cleaning duties, bullying him so much that he cried to Zhuang Xianyang every day after school. In his first year of middle school, his deskmate said she liked him, and he didn't like her back either. When they graduated, the girl wrote in his yearbook, wishing him a smooth journey—and that he would disappear halfway through.

Gu Zhuoyan guarded the two claypot rice bowls, flipping the crispy rice at the bottom while keeping watch. Zhuang Fanxin sat down across from Wang Churan and handed her a soda. He had to admit, the scene was a standard campus romance: a boy and a girl having lunch together, "I'll buy you a drink, you give me a slice of meat."

His thoughts began to run wild: if he had never appeared in Zhuang Fanxin's life, would Zhuang Fanxin be just like this, trying out a tender and careful relationship with someone else?

All that cuteness and silliness not shown to others, that overstepping care, would belong to someone else. Gu Zhuoyan was a little lost in thought, even crazily wanting to roll up a megaphone and shout for everyone to hear that Zhuang Fanxin was taken, that he was his.

"What are you spacing out for?"

Gu Zhuoyan snapped back to reality, staring at Zhuang Fanxin. "You're done talking?"

"Done." Zhuang Fanxin sat down across from him.

"What did you say?" Gu Zhuoyan asked.

"I first thanked her for the card." Zhuang Fanxin picked at his fried egg. "I didn't really know what to say, so I just said I'm sorry, and she understood."

Gu Zhuoyan coaxed, "Well done. If anyone writes you a love letter in the future, do the same thing."

After eating their fill, they went back for the noon break. Gu Zhuoyan insisted on seeing the so-called love letter. Zhuang Fanxin couldn't win the argument, so he secretly took it out for him to see. The two of them, huddled at the back table, looked exactly like ticket scalpers. Gu Zhuoyan held the card. Just one card? No attachments?