Seeing the gift box that appeared before her eyes, the girl was stunned.

“Thank you.” Yue Zhishi’s tone was solemn. “But, since I was little, my family told me not to casually accept gifts from others, especially from girls. Doing that would be taking someone else's feelings for granted. So I have to return it to you. I'm sorry.”

Yue Zhishi’s eyes had obvious Caucasian features, but with softer contours. His hair was a warm brown that glinted gold in the sunlight, and his whole person seemed clear and gentle. His appearance could give people illusions—for example, that he was easy to approach, easy to win over, that he could be persuaded—but that was not the case.

Much of the time, the childish Yue Zhishi was overly serious.

The girl's expression was a little sad, but she had expected this. She hesitated, wondering if she should take her gift back. “But, I…”

She opened her mouth, then paused.

“This must be expensive, you must have spent a long time picking it out.” Yue Zhishi was insistent, holding the gift box forward and extending it toward her hand for her to take. “Your handwriting is beautiful, you’re more suited to use this pen than I am.”

Hearing this, the girl raised her head. Replacing rejection with praise made it difficult to even feel sad.

But she still felt a little unwilling. “Then, do you have someone you like?”

Yue Zhishi was stunned for a moment.

Like.

There were many people he liked, such as Auntie Rong and Uncle Song, the owner of the noodle shop who would add two pieces of beef for him every time he ate vegetarian noodles, and his art teacher, Teacher Zhang, who gave him comic books and art supplies… There were too many; Yue Zhishi had countless examples in his heart.

But if a qualifier was added—the highest level—the scope would shrink drastically.

But it didn't seem to be the same kind of 'like' that the girl before him felt.

“You don’t?” the girl pressed.

Yue Zhishi shouldered his backpack and gave it a little bounce. “I don't think so. I don't want to be in a relationship right now. The high school entrance exams are coming up, and my parents will be called in if my grades drop.”

Seeing the girl's expression fall, Yue Zhishi added, “We can still be friends.”

“Really?”

“I don't lie.” Yue Zhishi bounced the backpack on his back. “It’s so hot. Isn’t there a vending machine downstairs? I’ll buy you guys a drink.”

“I want a Coke!” Jiang Yufan wouldn’t miss a chance to freeload. He glanced down and saw that Song Yu was surprisingly still there, leaning against a tree trunk with his arms crossed, headphones on, gazing up at them.

Jiang Yufan couldn’t help but shudder. He nudged Yue Zhishi with his elbow.

“Lele, look downstairs.”

Yue Zhishi turned his head at the sound and immediately spotted Song Yu’s figure through the railing.

Even a shot of adrenaline wouldn't have compared. Yue Zhishi spun around at once, planting his hands on the railing and leaning almost half his body over it. But when he called out “Brother,” the word was just a quiet breath of air.

Like a little puppy, so thrilled it wants to pounce but hesitates, testing the waters.

The girl watched Yue Zhishi’s excited back, feeling like he had become a different person, completely unlike the one who had just rejected her confession.

Song Yu, who was leaning against the camphor tree, lowered his arms. He walked to the bicycle parked under the tree, kicked up the kickstand, and swung a long leg over, seemingly ready to ride away.

Yue Zhishi panicked. “Hey, hey, hey.” He grabbed his backpack, ready to head down, but then he remembered his promise to buy them drinks. So he said in a flurry, “I’ll go down and buy them for you first.”

Dashing down the stairs, he was relieved to find Song Yu hadn't left so quickly. Yue Zhishi ran frantically to the vending machine, first selecting three cans of iced Coke. But when it was time to pay, he hesitated for a second, changed it to two cans, and bought a bottle of white peach soda water as well. Just then, Jiang Yufan and the others came down. Yue Zhishi hurriedly placed the two cans of Coke on top of the vending machine, gestured wildly at Jiang Yufan, pointing at the machine, then turned and ran toward Song Yu.

The shadows of the trees flickered across his flushed, panting face, the dappled spots of light were beautiful. After composing himself a little, Yue Zhishi smiled and called out, “Brother Song Yu,” then ruffled his own hair.

“What are you running for.” Song Yu only glanced at him, still wearing his headphones.

'I was afraid you'd leave.'

The allergic reaction was one thing, but he also exposed their relationship in front of so many people and ruined Song Yu's opening ceremony speech. Everything was a mess. He was afraid Song Yu would ignore him now.

Yue Zhishi shoved the cold soda water in his hands into Song Yu's. As Song Yu took it, he noticed the watch on Song Yu's left wrist. It was a gift from him.

When he was 10, the child model that Lin Rong’s photographer friend had hired fell ill. Yue Zhishi was brought in as a last-minute replacement and received a payment for it. Lin Rong had a very liberal philosophy on education, so she encouraged Yue Zhishi to spend the money himself.

When children get red envelopes, their first reaction is always to buy toys and snacks. But little Yue Zhishi wandered around the mall by himself for several days and ended up buying a beautiful watch.

Because Song Yu's birthday was in two days.

That was the first time he had ever used his own money to buy a gift. Back then, it felt like an astronomical price, but looking at it now, the watch wasn't a luxury brand. The style was very simple, not the trendy or complex digital watches popular among students today.

From childhood to now, Song Yu had received quite a few “gifts” from Yue Zhishi: a so-called “rare” four-leaf clover with the fourth leaf manually glued on, “Lele’s Little Stickers” that, upon collecting ten, could be exchanged for him to run any errand for his brother, a small, hand-drawn desk calendar exclusively for Song Yu…

But when he first received this gift, Song Yu's initial reaction was resistance. He even dragged Yue Zhishi to the mall where the watch was bought.

At that time, Song Yu had just started his first year of junior high, but he stood at the mall counter processing the return with the composure of an adult. Only Yue Zhishi was crying, even sitting on the floor hugging Song Yu's leg and wailing, as if he were the one who had received a gift that was being returned.

Unfortunately, the memory was too fuzzy. Yue Zhishi couldn't quite remember why Song Yu had so adamantly rejected the gift, or why he'd had a change of heart and decided to accept it.

He was curious for a moment, but after thinking about it, he didn't ask. He had just recovered from his allergic attack; he’d be thankful just to avoid a scolding. Now was not a good time.

Song Yu twisted open the cap, took a sip of water, and handed it back to him. Only then did Yue Zhishi snap back to his senses.

“Brother Song Yu, have you been waiting long?”

“Just got here.” Song Yu stepped on the pedal.

Yue Zhishi proactively updated him, “I’m fine now. I just took my medicine too.”

“I can see you’re fine,” Song Yu said.

Yue Zhishi didn't sense anything wrong with that sentence and continued, “Luckily you were here, otherwise I might have been a goner.”

He said the words “been a goner” with a straight face, but it wasn't an exaggeration. In elementary school, even though he brought his own lunch, as a child, he didn't realize the severity of his allergy. He'd had several severe attacks back then, and it was always Song Yu, who went to the same school, who saved him.

He didn't know how many times Song Yu had saved his little life. Sometimes, Yue Zhishi would think of those cartoons about small animals repaying a kindness and then seriously contemplate what kind of small animal he would be in his next life.

It would be best to be a little Pomeranian like Cotton Candy, with a small tag hanging from its neck.

Thinking of the tag, Yue Zhishi was suddenly reminded of the incident at the school gate. “You saved me twice today.”

Song Yu didn't scold him as he had imagined, but he didn't say anything else either, just prepared to leave. Yue Zhishi noticed, and immediately plopped down on the back seat. Seeing Song Yu turn his head to look at him, he tilted his face up. “My bike is parked at the school gate. I’ll ride yours out first.”

He didn't agree or refuse, as if he were carrying a bundle of air. Sitting on the back seat, Yue Zhishi waved goodbye to Jiang Yufan and the girl in the distance. “I’m heading home first!”

Jiang Yufan watched Yue Zhishi, feeling that even the ends of his words were laced with happiness.

When he first found out that Song Yu and Yue Zhishi were brothers, he had found it strange that neither of them ever mentioned their relationship to others. Recalling how they never interacted, he even thought Song Yu was excessively cold.

But putting himself in their shoes, how would he explain his relationship with Yue Zhishi?

No matter how it was explained, there would be no avoiding the topic of his deceased parents.

Gossip is a bloodless knife. Sometimes, silence is the shield that can best defend against harm.

The bike rode out, and a breeze picked up. The summer wind felt soft and gentle against the skin.

This reminded him of sitting on the back of Song Yu’s bike when they were little. Back then, Song Yu had just learned to ride, and the first person he ever gave a ride to was him. At first, they were both very happy. Little Yue Zhishi hugged his brother’s waist, his two legs kicked up high, shouting, “Faster, faster.”

Later, they fell. Yue Zhishi scraped his knee and it bled, and after that, Song Yu stopped giving him rides.

As they were about to reach the school gate, Yue Zhishi kept worrying that Song Yu would stop and make him ride his own bike back. He hesitated, trying to come up with an excuse.

'My bike chain fell off? No, that’s too fake.'

'The tires are flat? That probably won’t work either.'

'Maybe I'll just say my asthma hasn’t fully recovered, my chest feels tight, and I can't ride a bike.'

Just as he finally thought of a plausible reason, he looked up and found that they were already far past the school gate. Song Yu hadn't stopped. 'He probably forgot what I just said,' Yue Zhishi thought.

At a red light at the intersection, Song Yu stopped. Cars shuttled past in front of them, one after another. The sunlight was also silent.

A layer of condensation formed on the bottle in his hand, turning it into a very guilty bottle of soda.

“Brother Song Yu, did Teacher Wang call Auntie Rong?”

Song Yu didn't respond. Maybe he hadn't heard.

Although Song Yu didn't usually talk to him much, Yue Zhishi could sense the subtle differences in his mood. He had a feeling he was unhappy.

Was it because he had eaten the wrong thing and his allergic reaction had caused trouble for him?

Then why did he come to see him?

Probably to confirm that nothing serious had happened to him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Auntie Rong when he got back.

“Brother Song Yu…” While the light was still red, Yue Zhishi reached up and gently pulled down one of Song Yu’s earbuds, his voice ingratiating. “Can you not tell Auntie Rong about what happened today? She’ll definitely lecture me.”

The traffic light blinked, looking even guiltier.

“What happened?” Song Yu suddenly spoke.

Yue Zhishi was a bit confused. “Huh?”

The bicycle wheels started turning again. Inertia forced Yue Zhishi’s body to lean back, and the earbud cord became a fragile link between them. In a panic, he instinctively hugged Song Yu’s waist tightly and heard his voice, which seemed to conduct through his warm body.

“Are you talking about how you ate the wrong thing without bringing your medicine and nearly went into shock at the opening ceremony,”

The September sun was still sharp.

“Or the puppy love?”