TVDC 15: Don’t be Mad

He Zhiyuan reached a hand toward him, and Qiu Xuning instinctively shrank his neck back, squeezing his eyes shut.

When nothing happened after waiting for a while, the tight frown on Qiu Xuning’s face slowly eased. He cautiously opened his eyes.

By then, He Zhiyuan was already sitting on the bed, tidying up the clothes that Qiu Zhaozhao had pulled out of the wardrobe.

“…” Qiu Xuning couldn’t quite believe he hadn’t raised a hand. In a small voice, he asked, “You’re not going to hit me?”

He Zhiyuan shot him a glance. “Do you want me to hit you?”

Qiu Xuning hesitated, stealing a look at He Zhiyuan’s expression, then gave a tiny shake of his head.

He Zhiyuan withdrew his gaze. “Then why would I hit you?”

Qiu Xuning froze for a moment, his eyes widening. “…Aren’t you angry?”

He Zhiyuan didn’t answer him, but Qiu Xuning grew a little bolder. He stepped into He Zhiyuan’s room, and when he saw there was no reaction, he shuffled forward in small steps until he was at his side, murmuring, “Do you want me to help?”

He Zhiyuan stopped what he was doing, tossed the half-folded clothes back onto the bed, and lifted his eyes to glance at him.

Though he hadn’t spoken, Qiu Xuning seemed to catch his meaning—though not entirely sure. He reached out, two pale fingers carefully pinching the collar of a jacket, watching He Zhiyuan’s expression closely. If there was the slightest trace of displeasure on his face, he would let go immediately.

He Zhiyuan showed no such emotion, and once Qiu Xuning was sure of his intent, he picked up the clothes and glanced at him again.

He Zhiyuan seemed a little irritated by his overly cautious nature and said, “Hurry up and get it organized.”

He hardly ever spoke, but whenever he did, it was always in that impatient tone. It wasn’t the first or second time, yet Qiu Xuning still hadn’t gotten used to it, and the sharpness of his voice startled him, making his hands move faster.

He Zhiyuan didn’t move again, simply watching his every action.

Qiu Xuning’s folding was unexpectedly skillful and meticulous, every corner tucked in neatly, as tidy as a little block of tofu. After finishing one piece, he carefully placed it on the bed, eyes shining faintly as he stole a glance at He Zhiyuan. With a trace of pride in his tone, he said, “See? I can fold.”

Even better than you, he added softly in his heart, though he didn’t dare say it out loud.

He Zhiyuan, of course, noticed the smugness on his face. With a brief “Mm,” he unfolded the two pieces he had folded himself and tossed them over. “Fold these too.”

“Oh.” Qiu Xuning lowered his eyes and carefully sorted the messy pile of clothes, folding them neatly and stacking them square and tidy. Then he looked up at him and asked cautiously, “Should I put them in the wardrobe for you?”

He Zhiyuan gave a faint “Mm.” Qiu Xuning placed the clothes inside, pants with pants, jackets with jackets, each into its own compartment. Then he noticed the second-to-last section filled with underwear. There were four compartments, but only the second one hadn’t been touched.

Out of nowhere, a strange thought popped into Qiu Xuning’s head. Maybe He Zhiyuan’s underwear was designer too, the kind that cost tens of thousands.

It was such a sudden thought that Qiu Xuning almost laughed, but he held it back. He carefully placed the clothes neatly into the wardrobe, then looked toward He Zhiyuan, pressing his lips together before showing a small, obedient smile. “I’ve put everything away for you.”

With one hand, Qiu Xuning closed the wardrobe, his voice dropping lower. “Don’t stay angry, it’s not good for you.”

He Zhiyuan looked at him, raising a brow slightly. “And if I stay angry, what do you plan to do?”

Though those were his words, his tone was unexpectedly gentler, not at all like someone truly angry.

Qiu Xuning was the kind of person who would shrink back the moment he tasted hardship, but the instant he sensed something good, he had foolishly taken the bait. Hearing the change in He Zhiyuan’s tone, he felt certain he wasn’t angry anymore, and his courage swelled. Peeking at He Zhiyuan’s expression, he whispered, “If you’re still angry, you can hit me.”

He paused, lips pressing together, but the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint curve. The obedient look on his face was tinged with a lively spark, his eyes shining like they had caught a scatter of stars. “But you didn’t hit me just now, does that mean you couldn’t bear to?”

He Zhiyuan fixed his gaze on him. Meeting those dark, fathomless eyes, the cheerful smile on Qiu Xuning’s face stiffened, and he slowly lowered his head, his voice dropping with it. “…I was just joking.”

He Zhiyuan looked away, eyes lowered. “I have no reason to hit you.”

“Aren’t you angry?” Qiu Xuning asked softly, staring down at the pink bunny-fur slippers on his feet.

He Zhiyuan said nothing.

Qiu Xuning said, “You must have been angry last time too.”

The moment the words left his mouth, he felt uneasy.

He just had to bring up the one thing he shouldn’t.

He Zhiyuan said nothing about what happened last time or maybe, in his eyes, there was nothing worth mentioning at all.

He stood up and began to shoo him out. “You can leave now.” His tone carried a trace of coldness.

Qiu Xuning let out a dazed “Oh,” and walked toward the door. But before stepping out, he turned back, glanced at He Zhiyuan, and hesitated, words caught in his throat.

His eyes kept darting restlessly, refusing to meet He Zhiyuan’s gaze. He didn’t even have the courage to look at him directly.

“Still not leaving?”

“…Ah.” Qiu Xuning stammered, head bowed, not daring to look at He Zhiyuan. He fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a handful of milk candies, and placed them on the nightstand. In a rush, he blurted, “I’m giving you candy so don’t be angry anymore. If you stay angry, you’ll get wrinkles, and that won’t look good.”

Not waiting to see if He Zhiyuan would accept, he dashed out of the room, even making sure to pull the door shut behind him.

He Zhiyuan glanced at the pile of milk candies, reached out, picked one up, and let it sit in his palm for a moment. Then he unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.

It was very sweet—so sweet it felt like it melted right across his tongue.

…

When Qiu Xuning’s results came out, it was no surprise that he had scored quite well. 99 points. On the last big question, he had only lost one mark for leaving out a unit.

It was just a pop quiz, so there were no rankings, and he had no idea where his score would place him among the others.

He held the test paper in his hands, a quiet happiness bubbling inside him.

Qiu Xuning spread the paper out on the desk and carefully smoothed out the creases. His cautious, meticulous movements drew Qin Shouze’s attention.

Glancing at the score on the paper, Qin Shouze was a little surprised and couldn’t help but look at Qiu Xuning again.

Sensing his gaze, Qiu Xuning lifted his head and caught the glance Qin Shouze hadn’t pulled back in time. He blinked, stretched his neck slightly, and tried to peek at Qin Shouze’s paper but with it lying face down, he couldn’t see the score.

Qiu Xuning pulled his gaze back in disappointment, quietly taking a book from the drawer to cover his test paper.

“…” Qin Shouze flipped his paper over, showing the score. When Qiu Xuning lifted his head, he immediately saw the deliberately revealed number—just 88.

The corners of Qiu Xuning’s lips curved slightly, breaking into a happy smile. Catching that secretive yet a little smug expression, Qin Shouze felt a touch depressed, but he didn’t bother trying to talk to him.

After seeing his deskmate’s score, Qiu Xuning no longer glanced his way. He pulled a packet of wet wipes from his pocket and began carefully wiping his hands.

Qin Shouze watched as he wiped his hands ten times a day, going through a whole pack of wet wipes and even needing to buy two more between classes. Slowly, he realized that at some point, his deskmate had picked up the troublesome habit of a cleanliness obsession.

When the results for several subjects came back, Qiu Xuning carefully folded each test paper and tucked them into his schoolbag. By the time he got home, he couldn’t wait to show them to Zhou Mingmei.

When he stood in front of her, Qiu Xuning managed to press down his excitement, putting on an act as he softly said, “Mom, my scores are out.”

Zhou Mingmei’s eyes lit up when she heard him. “How many points?”

Qiu Xuning pulled the test papers from his bag and was about to hand them over, when a jolt shot through him, leaving his whole body stiff. His handwriting wasn’t the same as the real “Qiu Xuning’s.”

At that moment, Zhou Mingmei had already taken the papers from his hands and lowered her head to read.

Panicking, Qiu Xuning tried to snatch them back, but just as he reached out, Zhou Mingmei turned away, dodging him by chance. Anxious and ready to speak, he was cut off as Zhou Mingmei called out, “Qiu Shuohai! Get down here! Your brother’s results are out, come take a look!”

“Mom, give me the test papers, I still need to correct my mistakes,” Qiu Xuning said softly, moving closer to Zhou Mingmei, reaching for the papers in her hands. Zhou Mingmei lifted her hand higher, keeping them out of reach. “Ningning, you did so well, let me take a good look.”

As she spoke, she shifted away from him, carefully examining the pages.

Qiu Xuning grew anxious, his voice rising, “Mom, I need them, can you please give them back?”

Though his voice was louder, compared to the past it was still far too gentle, and Zhou Mingmei didn’t realize he was already anxious. She kept looking over the paper and said, “I can’t really understand it, but it’s all correct. Ningning, your handwriting—”

The very thing he dreaded came right on cue. Qiu Xuning froze, even holding his breath, standing there nervously and watching Zhou Mingmei.

She frowned slightly, flipped the paper over, glanced at the other side, and murmured, “Since when did your handwriting get so nice?”

As she spoke, she shot Qiu Xuning a suspicious glance.

Qiu Xuning picked at the soft flesh of his thumb, eyes lowered to the dark-patterned floor. Before he could say anything, Zhou Mingmei suddenly shouted, “He Zhiyuan! Who told you to come in with your shoes on?! Do you have a death wish?”

Qiu Xuning rubbed at his ear, looked back over his shoulder and sure enough, He Zhiyuan had returned. Hearing Zhou Mingmei’s scolding, he stepped back a few paces onto the mat at the entryway and changed out of his shoes.

The sight of He Zhiyuan set Zhou Mingmei off. “Are you deliberately trying to provoke me? You ungrateful brat, I’d be better off raising a dog than you! Hurry up and mop the floor, and wash that rug too! Don’t you dare use the washing machine!”

Seizing the moment, Qiu Xuning snatched the test papers back from her hands. Zhou Mingmei was still fuming at He Zhiyuan, barking orders while keeping a close watch to make sure he didn’t slack off, so naturally she didn’t notice the papers had already returned to their owner.

Qiu Xuning had just retrieved them, barely letting out a breath of relief, when a hand suddenly reached from behind and yanked the papers away. “Let me see. Wow, 99 points? Impressive!”

It was Qiu Shuohai. Qiu Xuning panicked. “Give me back my test papers.”

Qiu Shuohai frowned, displeased. “What? I’m not even allowed to look?”

Qiu Xuning reached out to grab them, but Qiu Shuohai lifted his arm higher. “What’s the big deal if I look? Just a few lousy test papers, and you treat them like treasure?”

A full head taller than Qiu Xuning, Qiu Shuohai only had to raise his arm to keep the papers out of reach. Qiu Xuning grew more flustered, his face, ears, and neck flushing red. “Give them back! Hurry and give them back!”

Qiu Shuohai stared at his flushed cheeks, his eyes glistening with a thin sheen of moisture, as if he might burst into tears at any moment. An unnameable itch stirred in his chest. Lowering the hand holding the papers little by little, he grinned and said, “Come and take them yourself. If you can grab them, they’re yours.”

Qiu Xuning’s gaze stayed fixed on the test papers. The moment he saw Qiu Shuohai lower them within reach, he took the bait and stretched out his hand to snatch them.

Qiu Shuohai had done it on purpose—he was only teasing Qiu Xuning. He kept a tight grip on the papers, while Qiu Xuning, not realizing it, pulled too hard. With a sharp rip, the test papers tore straight down the middle.

Qiu Shuohai let go and said innocently, “Not my fault. You’re the one who tried to snatch them.”

Qiu Xuning’s eyes widened at the torn sheets, and in the next second, they turned red.