On the first day of school, before class, Anru stood in front of Song Lang's desk with her head down, looking at him with tears in her eyes.
Song Lang felt a headache coming on.
The scene seemed familiar, and my cheeks throbbed with pain.
"Can you come out for a moment?" Anru asked.
Song Lang had already anticipated what she was going to say. After they went to the rooftop of the teaching building, he got straight to the point: "Don't worry, I told Xingzi and Hao Wei later that they won't talk nonsense. I can guarantee that."
“Song Lang, the truth is not what you think. I was really heartbroken when you left me alone in the hotel. I kept wondering if I had no charm at all, which is why you could leave me in that situation.”
Anru suddenly grasped Song Lang's hand, her eyes brimming with tears, looking utterly pitiful.
"It wasn't until a few days ago that I realized you still have feelings for me, right? You left so suddenly back then, there must have been something you couldn't tell me. You still like me, don't you?"
Song Lang looked down into her eyes, recalling the slightly reddened eyes of Shen Zhifei when she spoke to him about the "future" that day.
His heart ached; he could never bear to see Shen Zhifei show such a sad expression.
He firmly pushed the hand away.
"Let me make things clear with you today. If it were anyone I knew who did what happened a few days ago, I would have taken care of it. I abandoned you that day because I felt sorry for you. It wasn't because I had any difficulties, but because I realized that I liked someone else."
Anru refused to believe it and pressed, "Who do you like? Hao Wei?"
“You don’t know him, but he’s quite bothered by my past with you. So from now on, let’s just be classmates and forget about everything else.”
Anru wanted to say something more, but Song Lang refused to continue.
"Sorry, I miss him a little, I have to go see him now."
After finishing his sentence, Song Lang turned around and stomped downstairs. He pulled a piece of stiff paper from his schoolbag, put it in his mouth, and pulled out a few more. Once he was sure he had emptied his schoolbag, he grabbed the stack of papers and ran outside.
They bumped right into the Chinese teacher who was on her way to class. "Hehehe, where are you running off to? Class is starting!"
"Go hand in the inspection report!" Song Lang waved the letter in his hand, the wind whistling through it, and he disappeared around the corner of the stairs in the blink of an eye.
"Writing a self-criticism on the first day of school? You're hopeless." The Chinese teacher shook her head and went to teach the class.
Song Lang rode his mountain bike at high speed towards the Fifth Middle School, which was two streets away.
He knew the way well and arrived at the school wall. He took a running start, leaped over the wall, and successfully jumped into the school.
He found Shen Zhifei's classroom, where Xiao Xi was collecting homework on the podium. Upon seeing him, he blurted out "Big Brother".
"Hey, hello little brother, I'm looking for Feifei." Song Lang leaned against the classroom door, peeking into the classroom.
Xiao Xi pointed behind him, and Song Lang felt a hand on his lower back. He turned around and saw Shen Zhifei looking at him with a smile.
"Not-I—"
"Come back to the dorm with me and we'll talk."
Shen Zhifei held his hand and walked out of the teaching building, taking off his own school uniform jacket and putting it on Song Lang.
"Don't you have to attend the first class?" Song Lang asked.
"Study period, it's fine."
Shen Zhifei held his hand tightly and greeted the dormitory supervisor when they entered the dormitory building, and they were able to pass through smoothly.
As soon as he entered the dormitory, the door clicked shut and Song Lang hugged and kissed him.
The two embraced and kissed as they fell onto Shen Zhifei's bed.
Song Lang was very fierce this time, pressing down Shen Zhifei's hands and feet hard, refusing to let him fight back.
However, aside from kissing and touching, they did not take any further action.
After kissing for a long time, Song Lang straddled Shen Zhifei's waist and presented the stack of letters to Shen Zhifei's chest like a treasure.
"Take a look, is this medical report acceptable?"
Shen Zhifei picked it up and stared at it, then her eyes welled up with tears.
It was an all-English examination report, four pages long.
The handwriting was as neat as Song Lang could manage, though the grammar was still full of errors, but given his current skill level, it was still a lot of effort.
On the first page and a half, Song Lang used simple and easy-to-understand words and incorrect sentences to state his mistakes and analyze his shortcomings.
The next two pages contain the entire phrase "I love you".
Shen Zhifei covered his face with the letter and took a deep breath of the lingering ink scent.
This was written by him using the fountain pen he had given him.
"Feifei, I've been thinking a lot these past two days."
Song Lang removed the letters and looked down at Shen Zhifei from his high position.
"I guess it's because I tend to do things on a whim and lack perseverance that makes you so uneasy. Yes, I'm playful and mischievous, and I don't think as far ahead as you do, but that doesn't mean I'm not serious about you."
He leaned down and pressed his forehead against Shen Zhifei's, their hot breaths mingling.
"Shen Zhifei, you remember this: I like you, and I'm with you not because I'm rebellious, crave excitement, or want something new. I struggled with this decision for half a year before finally making it."
Shen Zhifei hooked his arm around his neck, and Song Lang lowered his head and lightly pecked the corner of his eye.