ATIBESLM 11

In Fei Lan’s eyes, wasn’t Ye Lingwei just a kid?

Fei Lan only discovered Ye Lingwei’s existence thanks to those childish antics of his—secretly squatting outside his courtyard and furtively writing letters to Jiang Hui.

How childish.

Being stared at by Fei Lan like that, Ye Lingwei felt a tingle in his cheeks. Fortunately, he was interrupted by Gao Linhao. Gao Linhao turned his head and lectured Ye Lingwei, “Don’t look at things you shouldn’t look at, got it?”

He said it in a joking tone. Ye Lingwei obediently replied that he understood, then openly and brazenly took another peek at the back of Fei Lan’s neck.

Gao Linhao: “???”

The boy jumped up to cover Ye Lingwei’s eyes. Ye Lingwei, unhurried, blinked his eyes against the palm of the hand. Gao Linhao felt something soft sweep across his palm and snatched his hand back as if he had been burned. He plonked down heavily onto his stool, muttering to himself, “He’s a menace, this one is a menace.”

—

Today was Monday. The brief morning self-study session ended. After breakfast in the cafeteria, the flag-raising ceremony would begin. It would include a summary of last week’s weekly exams, rewards and reflections, then criticism and education for those who were slacking off or violating school rules.

Ye Lingwei ate breakfast prepared by the housekeeper at home. While everyone else rushed to the cafeteria, he stayed in the classroom playing for a while, only heading to the sports field when the broadcast started.

Just as he emerged from the teaching building, Ye Lingwei’s gaze swept casually across the sports field. Gao Linhao was leaning against another boy, rocking back and forth with laughter. Standing in front of him was Fei Lan and tall boys were gathered around him. Ye Lingwei didn’t recognize them, so they were likely from other classes.

Just like the scene in the corridor earlier, Fei Lan was quiet, even occasionally checking his phone. The ones talking non-stop were the people around him. They didn’t seem to care whether Fei Lan paid attention to them or not; it was as if just being able to follow Fei Lan was already a great honor for them.

It was very strange.

Just as Ye Lingwei was about to look away, the boy closest to Fei Lan looked straight over at him. He paused for a second, then immediately let out a flirtatious wolf-whistle at Ye Lingwei.

Ye Lingwei tilted his head and, very provocatively, returned a disdainful sneer.

Just at that moment, Fei Lan looked over. His gaze didn’t linger on Ye Lingwei; instead, he turned to look at Chen Fengbao. “You like him?”

Chen Fengbao’s eyes were fixed on Ye Lingwei’s retreating back, and without thinking, he started to say, “Li…”

His words came to an abrupt halt, because he felt Brother Lan looking at him. The look in his eyes was so calm it was somewhat terrifying.

As a result, the words on the tip of his tongue twisted into, “Can’t like him, definitely can’t like him.”

The boy who had Gao Linhao’s arm draped around him twisted his head around with difficulty to look at Ye Lingwei. There was only a view of his back; he couldn’t see his face. He turned back to ask Fei Lan, “Lan-ge, is this that guy from Class 7?”

Gao Linhao naturally took over the conversation. “Yeah. I really don’t know why he was bullied so badly back in Class 7. In our class, everyone seems to treat him pretty well.”

The school was only so big. Someone who is ostracized by the group will quickly be noticed by other classes. As for Ye Lingwei being bullied, everyone knew a thing or two about it, more or less.

Li Jing let out a scoff. “Do you really think it’s just the students in that class who wanted to bully him? Generally, in a class like that, someone takes the lead and the instigator is usually the homeroom teacher. She doesn’t even have to do anything. Simply ignoring it is the best encouragement for their bullying behavior.”

The class atmosphere is rotten.

Gao Linhao looked at him with worship. “Jing-ge, you’re so sharp!”

“I’m thinking of collecting my aphorisms and publishing a book. You should buy a few copies later to take home and worship.”

Gao Linhao pushed Li Jing away. “Then let me think about which nook and cranny in my house I can hide your book in so my mom doesn’t find it…”

“It’s too damn embarrassing.”

Li Jing glanced at his watch indifferently. “Not arguing with idiots is my life motto. I’m going to the flag-raising ceremony. Goodbye, trash.”

Gao Linhao: “…”

Chen Fengbao had almost said the wrong words earlier. He was currently feeling incredibly apprehensive. Seeing Li Jing call an end to the gathering, he immediately scrambled away with him, and the others all left at the same time.

Fei Lan looked past Gao Linhao’s shoulder and happened to see Ye Lingwei standing dutifully in his class’s designated spot. He probably wasn’t quite sure where someone of his height was supposed to stand. Whenever two people stood in front of him, he would shuffle back a few steps. From behind, he looked a bit lost.

Thinking back to the look of stunned admiration Chen Fengbao just gave Ye Lingwei, when did that start? Fei Lan thought about it for a moment. It was probably when Ye Lingwei transferred to Class 1 a few days ago. His hair was cut short, revealing his eyes. He learned to straighten his back and he no longer averted his gaze when he walked.

He had a very beautiful face; Fei Lan had known this for a long time.

However, he was still young. Fei Lan held his phone in his hand and tapped the black screen twice with his finger. The screen lit up. The lock screen was an anime boy. A pair of blood-stained white wings grew from his bare back. One wing was full and feathered, while the other was reduced to mere bone, broken and lying at his feet.

He was still young, fresh and tender. Fei Lan lowered his eyes and thought calmly. He wouldn’t hold it against Ye Lingwei. If there was to be collective punishment, he would make him the exception.

“Lan-ge, let’s go, Pokémon is coming over.”

Ye Lingwei stood in the middle section. With his height of 176cm, he just barely made it to the middle row. Once everyone reached high school, they all started shooting up like crazy. Ye Lingwei had poor health so growing taller was a struggle for him, but growing another two or three centimeters shouldn’t be a big problem.

The flag bearers rotated between classes, and this time it just happened to be Class 1’s turn. Ye Lingwei looked toward the rostrum; Lin Chudong was the main flag bearer.

Ye Lingwei only gave him a single glance. He really had absolutely no interest in Lin Chudong. It just so happened that he locked eyes with Lin Chudong, who was coming down from the rostrum.

He himself didn’t realize just how beautiful his eyes were. Peach blossom eyes naturally look affectionate. Ye Lingwei coldly withdrew his gaze, but in Lin Chudong’s eyes, it looked like shyness.

Right then and there, Lin Chudong got so flustered that he almost tripped.

Fei Lan stood at the very back of the line. He saw all of this crystal clear and gave a smile devoid of any specific emotion.

What a kid, to like that kind of person.

Lin Chudong was furious. As soon as the flag-raising ceremony ended, he stormed through the crowd in a rage. On his way over, he had originally intended to give Ye Lingwei a fierce scolding right in front of everyone.

However, he then felt that Ye Lingwei’s crime didn’t warrant such severity, so, feeling he was being soft-hearted, he decided to switch to a slightly gentler approach.

“Come with me, I have something to say to you.” Lin Chudong dropped these words and turned to walk away, fully expecting Ye Lingwei to be nervous and excited as he followed behind him.

He walked alone to the shade of a few dense camphor trees. He looked around with great vigilance. After confirming there was no one else around, he sighed and turned around. “Ye Lingwei, you…”

Before him was only the slightly cool morning air and a few withered yellow leaves scattered on the ground.

Ye Lingwei hadn’t followed him at all. Lin Chudong heard his brain explode with a loud buzz. Immediately, his face flushed red. It was unacceptable, unbelievable, incomprehensible.

Of course Ye Lingwei wouldn’t follow him.

In fact, he hadn’t paid any attention to what Lin Chudong had rushed over to say. After standing for a while, he dragged himself up several flights of stairs. Ye Lingwei could hear his own heartbeat, heavy as muffled thunder striking his chest. He didn’t even want to speak; as soon as he got back to the classroom, he slumped onto his desk.

Gao Linhao poked Fei Lan in the back. “Look, his complexion is terrible.”

Fei Lan turned a page of his book and gave an indifferent grunt to indicate a response.

Gao Linhao withdrew his hand in boredom, propped his chin on his hand, and nodded. When good-looking people look unwell, they are still beautiful. However, in his Brother Lan’s eyes, everyone’s skin¹To Fei Lan, humans are just “skins” or anatomical structures; he doesn’t distinguish between ugly and beautiful people. is probably all the same.

He watched Ye Lingwei for a while. Just as he was preparing to rush the homework due that afternoon, he saw their class monitor walking toward their back row with a face dark as thunder.

Gao Linhao was a bit puzzled. Their class monitor had always been amiable, with an attitude that made people feel like they were bathing in a spring breeze. This… was a bit of a lapse in composure for him, wasn’t it?

Gao Linhao was excitedly waiting to see who on earth could make Lin Chudong lose his composure, given that he was terrified of his mother.

Then, he watched with his own eyes as Lin Chudong walked up to the front of Ye Lingwei’s desk and actually shoved Ye Lingwei. Gao Linhao’s face instantly fell.

Even though he had never consciously thought about it and he had known Lin Chudong longer than Ye Lingwei, subconsciously, he felt that Lin Chudong wasn’t good enough for Ye Lingwei—and it had nothing to do with how good-looking the latter was.

Gao Linhao tugged at Lin Chudong’s clothes. “Hey Monitor, take it easy. He’s sleeping.”

Lin Chudong coldly said, “I have business with him. Stay out of it.”

Gao Linhao: “…” Damn it, think you’re all that just because you have good grades!

Ye Lingwei was pushed awake. When he lifted his head, his vision went black for a moment. He let out a soft whimper. Gao Linhao craned his neck, a bit worried. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you when he pushed you?”

“I’m fine,” Ye Lingwei said.

He looked at Lin Chudong. “What do you want with me?”

The boy’s face was upturned, his neck slender and pale with a perfect curve. Two of his buttons were undone, allowing a faint glimpse of his collarbones. Lin Chudong’s face started to burn. He turned his face away and forced out the words he had prepared from the start in a dry, stiff tone.

“I wanted to say, could you stop liking me? You are really bothering me.” Lin Chudong didn’t notice Ye Lingwei’s expression gradually turning strange. He continued rambling on self-righteously, “I’m doing this for your own good too. Studying is the most important thing for us right now. If you can get into University B, I m-might still be able to…”

“Student Lin Chudong,” Ye Lingwei interrupted him. He propped his cheek against his palm and leaned lazily against the corner of the desk. “I will reiterate one more time—I am not interested in you.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Ye Lingwei said faintly, his tone unhurried, “People who don’t know better might think that you’re playing hard to get because you like me.”

After saying this, Ye Lingwei paused for a moment himself. He then let out a chuckle. “Maybe that’s actually the truth.”

He hadn’t considered at all how Lin Chudong would react to hearing such words. Lin Chudong had braved the curious gazes of so many people in the class to come and say these things to Ye Lingwei. In his eyes, this was already extremely bold behavior. He never expected that Ye Lingwei would have this attitude.

The people in the class didn’t know that Ye Lingwei liked him so they might actually be misled by him. Lin Chudong’s face went pale. Anxious and angry, he shouted, “What nonsense are you talking about?!”

This was, from childhood to adulthood, the biggest fool Lin Chudong had ever made of himself.

Ye Lingwei felt a bit tired after saying those words. The original host’s constitution was poor. His eyelids drooped, looking like a little deer that had been bullied.

Lin Chudong wanted to continue verbally lecturing Ye Lingwei, completely failing to notice that Ye Lingwei no longer had the energy to deal with him.

“You shouldn’t always…” Lin Chudong wanted to tell him not to always be so idle and neglectful of his duties, but he didn’t finish his sentence. He was startled by the ear-piercing sound of a desk and chair scraping against the floor. His body shuddered involuntarily as he turned his head to look at the source of the noise.

His gaze swept past Gao Linhao, who was sitting bolt upright while staring straight ahead, looking overly serious.

Fei Lan had just come in from the corridor. He kicked his stool out with one foot but didn’t sit down immediately. He looked at Lin Chudong, his gaze indifferent. “Monitor, class is starting.”

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  To Fei Lan, humans are just “skins” or anatomical structures; he doesn’t distinguish between ugly and beautiful people.