TT Chapter 19. Refusing Head Pats

That evening, back in the dorm, Yang Shulin couldn’t wait to bring up the question that had been on his mind.

“Ting Ting, did you and Pei Yiyao ever meet when you were little? Didn’t you say your families were close? Then you must’ve seen each other as kids, right?”

Chen Ting froze. He honestly hadn’t thought about it. But Yang Shulin had a point. When the Pei family moved abroad, he had already started kindergarten. They probably had met.

It was childhood stuff. Forgetting was possible.

So he simply pulled out his phone and messaged his mom to check.

Moon Boat: When you were little? Of course you met. Not just once. You were born in the same hospital, remember? The Ruan family isn’t from N City, and back then we lived just a few hundred meters apart.

Donghu Crab King: I completely forgot.

Moon Boat: You, honestly.

Moon Boat: You even held Yiyao when you were a toddler. You forgot that too?

Donghu Crab King: Held??????

Chen Ting imagined Pei Yiyao’s tall frame now and immediately broke into a cold sweat.

Moon Boat: You thought you were the big brother and insisted on hugging him. But with those stubby little arms and legs of yours, you ended up falling into a pile of hay.

Moon Boat: Yiyao didn’t even cry. You did.

Moon Boat: You cried so loud they could hear you across the river.

Donghu Crab King: ………………….

Chen Ting wanted to beg his mom to stop, but once the floodgates opened, there was no stopping her. Especially when a mother was recalling all the dumb things her son did as a child.

Moon Boat: Yiyao could swim before you. You were still floating around with an inflatable ring, and slower than him, too.

Moon Boat: When the Ruan family moved abroad, you went around every day calling out “little brother, little brother,” carrying a basket like you were really going to go find him. And now you’ve forgotten all of it. Aren’t you even a little embarrassed?

Moon Boat: You remember kindergarten, right? Yiyao thought you didn’t want to play with him anymore. He clung to you and refused to let go, insisted on following you to school. The teacher had to put a tiny stool next to your seat just so he could sit with you. Everyone was quietly laughing on the side. Your Aunt Ruan and I were watching from outside the window.

Donghu Crab King: I don’t remember any of that!

Chen Ting truly didn’t. He had only just started kindergarten at the time, and not long after, everything at home had changed. His father died in an accident. The family was thrown into sudden upheaval, and it had taken him a long time to adjust. Who would have remembered some kid from overseas?

So many years had passed. At this point, it seemed like only his mom and Aunt Ruan were still holding on to the bond they had built growing up together.

For Chen Ting, turning seven had marked a clear divide. He no longer remembered anything from before then. Not the people he had met, nor what his life had been like.

After Chen’s mom finished her long string of voice messages, Chen Ting lay on his bed and tried hard to recall the past. But no matter how much he thought, nothing came back. Had Pei Yiyao always been this cold, even as a kid?

Probably not. He was only a few years old then. He must’ve been a soft, squishy little dumpling.

But what would a soft, squishy Pei Yiyao even look like?

He thought about it for a while. Then drowsiness rolled in, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.

He had a dream. In it, he turned into a mitten crab, stomping around the countryside with his massive claws, ruling the land like a little tyrant. Behind him followed a tiny crab, bubbling nonstop.

The mitten crab said to the little crab, “Stick with me and you’ll get bubblegum.”

So the two of them crossed fields, climbed hills, and marched toward a grand boat docked on the Yangtze River, with the evening wind and sunset at their backs.

He was still the same mitten crab, swaggering, dominant, bubbling away. But when the river breeze swept through, the little crab behind him started to grow. It grew bigger and bigger, until it turned into a blue-backed, white-bellied, giant mitten crab.

It raised one massive claw and reached out, trying to pat Chen Ting on the head.

Chen Ting bolted upright in bed.

A couple of years ago, someone had the idea to build a building by the lake that looked exactly like a mitten crab. It had left a strong impression on Chen Ting.

Chen Ting decided it was better for Pei Yiyao to just stay a cool guy. The giant mitten crab version was way too terrifying.

Maybe he should change his QQ status to: No Head Pats Allowed.

In the end, though, he didn’t go through with it. As the older one, he figured he should be more mature. So the next time Pei Yiyao came to the café to buy coffee, Chen Ting made sure to act before he could do anything. He reached out and gave his shoulder a steady, grown-up pat.

“Take care.”

Pei Yiyao: “……”

The only two customers in the shop couldn’t hold back a laugh. Seeing someone as cold and sharp as Pei Yiyao get a shoulder pat from Chen Ting, who was cute and bubbly, was just too much of a contrast to handle.

But Chen Ting acted like he didn’t hear it, and he was quite pleased with himself. He might not be tall, but patting Pei Yiyao on the shoulder was still well within reach. He didn’t even have to tiptoe.

But still—

Pei Yiyao lifted a hand and once again pressed it gently onto Chen Ting’s head, his fingers slipping into his hair with ease. Last time he had only ruffled it briefly. This time, he went further. His fingers actually sank into the strands.

Chen Ting felt like a curly-haired dog under Pei Yiyao’s palm, getting tousled until his whole head swayed.

“Stop touching my head. If you keep it up, I won’t grow any taller,” he muttered, glaring at Pei Yiyao in protest.

Pei Yiyao coughed and pulled his hand back, turning his eyes away without thinking. Then he asked, “You’re not working tomorrow. Want to study together?”

Chen Ting was successfully distracted. “Yeah. The CET-4 is next month. It’s not hard or anything, but it looks better if you score high.”

Even though he was an English major, Chen Ting still hadn’t taken the CET-4 yet. Now that he was in his second year, the university had scheduled all English majors to take both the CET-4 and CET-6 this year. Some students had registered early as freshmen, but Chen Ting had been way too lazy for that.

Now that he was in his second year, all kinds of exams and certifications were starting to pile up. The CET-4 was basically just high school–level English. Of all the certifications, it was the easiest one. So Chen Ting wasn’t worried at all.

Pei Yiyao nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

Chen Ting was surprised. “You signed up too?”

“Yeah.”

“Great, then I’ll see you at the library tomorrow?”

“Okay.”

After the two of them made plans, and Pei Yiyao had left, Chen Ting suddenly remembered his overseas background. For someone like him, English probably counted as a second native language. Did he really need to study?

Forget it. Chen Ting shook his head. He’d drag Yang Shulin along tomorrow. That guy had been complaining nonstop lately about how little time they spent together, acting like some abandoned housewife from a drama.

So the next evening, when Pei Yiyao arrived at the library, the first thing he saw was Yang Shulin leaning close to Chen Ting, whispering something.

Yang Shulin. Again.

Pei Yiyao silently declared that he hated Yang Shulin. And he didn’t like “YSL” either.

Yang Shulin remained blissfully unaware and was still complaining to Chen Ting about how cold it was inside the library. “N University is so stingy. We’re the flowers of the nation, you know. What if we freeze?”

Chen Ting couldn’t help laughing. He looked up and saw Pei Yiyao, quickly greeting him with a wave.

Clack.

Pei Yiyao placed a blue thermos down in front of him.

Chen Ting found the thermos oddly familiar. He picked it up, and sure enough, it was the same one Pei Yiyao had used to bring him that rock sugar pear drink.

“What’s in it this time?” he asked as he opened the lid. The thick scent of milk hit him instantly and gave him pause.

“Milk, Ting Ting. It smells crazy sweet,” Yang Shulin said.

Chen Ting looked across at Pei Yiyao, a little unsure. “Is this for me?”

Pei Yiyao nodded. “Yeah.”

Chen Ting didn’t know what to say. Even an idiot could see it by now that Pei Yiyao was being way too nice to him. If he were just someone with a naturally warm personality, that would be one thing. But he was clearly distant with everyone else. Take Yang Shulin, for example. Pei Yiyao hadn’t even looked him in the eye.

Yang Shulin was still going on. “Ugh, that smells so good. I want some too. Help me hold my seat, okay? I’m going to grab a coffee. Be right back!”

Yang Shulin quickly ran off, vanishing without a trace. That left just Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao, sitting together in silence.

Pei Yiyao was never one to say much. As long as Chen Ting stayed quietly within view, he didn’t mind the silence. Chen Ting, meanwhile, was still turning over the same thoughts in his head and ended up sitting there in a daze.

Not far away, a group of students was whispering while watching them.

“Why does Ting Ting look so hopeless today?”

“That’s not hopeless, that’s adorably blank, okay? You just don’t get it.”

“Cool Guy, go for it!”

“Ugh, Cool Guy is useless. He’s over there seriously doing practice questions. I bet he’s never even dated anyone. Tsk, tsk…”

“Minus points for Cool Guy.”

“It’s fine. He’s got the face and the figure. Besides, haven’t they already met the parents?”

“Oh right, met the parents. That’s a strong play.”

“…”

None of the muttering disturbed Chen Ting at all. His mind had been drifting all evening. He didn’t even realize how long he had zoned out until Pei Yiyao’s cool, even voice brought him back.

“You don’t like milk?”

Chen Ting snapped out of it. His eyes dropped to the cup of untouched milk sitting in front of him. He shook his head. “I don’t dislike it.”

Pei Yiyao continued watching him.

Chen Ting had no choice but to pick up the thermos and take a sip. Afterward, He licked the milk from the corners of his mouth and glanced at the thermos. Trust Pei Yiyao to get the biggest size. The opening was clearly too wide to drink from comfortably.

Pei Yiyao was still staring at him, his eyes catching the faint trace of pink that had passed across Chen Ting’s lips. His gaze deepened.

Finally, Chen Ting sensed something was off. He glanced around and used the thermos to shield his face. “Why are you staring at me? Is there a test question written on my face?”

“No,” Pei Yiyao replied.

Then he went back to working on his practice questions. Chen Ting rested his chin on his hands and gave his head a firm shake, reminding himself to stop zoning out. Then he bent down and started doing his mock exam questions in earnest.

The gossip crowd remained the busiest people in the room.

“Why is it that even though they barely talk, I still feel like…”

“There’s something going on…”

“It’s giving gay energy.”

“Cool Guy’s eyes are practically glued to him.”

“Ting Ting looked so cute just now when he shook his head.”

“By the way, where did YSL go? Did he fall into the toilet or something?”

“Forget about him. Third wheels don’t matter, no matter where you hang them.”

“This campus heartthrob is disappointing. It’s been minutes and he’s still doing practice questions?”

“Studying brings him joy…”

“Tsk. Not even a little hand-holding. One star!”