Song Lang said nonchalantly, "What's wrong? I'm right, Xingzi is so stupid, Feifei will definitely be so angry that she'll want to beat someone up, right?"
Shen Lingyu rolled her eyes at him, "Do you think Feifei is you? All brawn and no brains."
Song Lang pushed the braised pork forward a little further and said, "Then I'll treat you to some extra lessons to make your mind a little sharper. Eat up."
Shen Zhifei opened his mouth and ate the meat, biting the chopsticks as he did so. He looked directly into Song Lang's eyes, and the two stared at each other for a long time, their gazes intertwined like seaweed swaying on the seabed.
Shen Lingyu looked at this person and then at that person, thus breaking the undercurrent between the two.
"Did I hear that right? Mr. Song actually asked for extra lessons. This is the first time in more than a decade."
"Even Meng Fanxing knows how to strive for improvement, I can't fall behind and embarrass you, can I?"
Song Lang took back his chopsticks, put them in his mouth, and said, "Feifei goes to Xingzi's house with me every morning for class, has lunch at his house, and then we go to Taekwondo class together in the afternoon, so that you don't have to run back from the company to worry about our lunch."
He filled his day to the brim.
As long as he can monopolize all of Shen Zhifei's vacation time, then Song Xianji will no longer be a threat.
"Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?" Song Lang said.
“Killing two birds with one stone,” Shen Zhifei corrected, his gaze fixed on the pair of chopsticks.
"It's pretty much the same idea." Song Lang smacked his lips, tilting his head to look at him. "Are you willing? Or are you busy with someone or something during winter break?"
Shen Zhifei was now certain that Song Lang had seen him and Song Xianji going to cause trouble.
He curled the corners of his lips into a smile, shook his head, and said gently, "I'm willing. Brother is the most important."
Song Lang couldn't resist his gaze, and the sparks hidden beneath his pores were ignited by his gentle, unknowing reply.
Unlike the feeling of being ignited by anger or shame, this indescribable emotion burned on his skin, the heat rushing straight into his internal organs, and even his ears were spewing smoke.
Even the speed of one's heartbeat is stirred up.
He hurriedly looked away and said to Shen Lingyu, "It's settled then, Mom. Aunt Meng's cooking is better than yours, so consider lunch as tuition."
"Then go wash the dishes after you finish eating. Don't always make Feifei do it. Consider it tuition." Shen Lingyu glanced at the time. There was a summary meeting in the afternoon, so she gave a few instructions and left in a hurry.
Starting the next day, Song Lang dragged Shen Zhifei out to Meng Fanxing's house, beginning a holiday tutoring session that disrupted their dating plans.
Initially, with the fear of being dominated by the final exam still lingering, and with Aunt Meng supervising them, Meng Fanxing and Song Lang actually obediently followed Shen Zhifei's teaching for a week.
As the Spring Festival approached, Song Lang, who was eager to play, was the first to lose interest and instead stayed in Meng Fanxing's bed playing mobile games or watching movies.
Meng Fanxing was so captivated by him that she lost all interest in studying and would often drift off into her own thoughts, which Shen Zhifei simply let go of.
The morning of the 27th of the twelfth lunar month was the last make-up class before the New Year.
When Song Lang and Shen Zhifei arrived at Meng Fanxing's house, his room was very lively. Upon entering, they found three boys from No. 18 Middle School who usually played well with him and Song Lang.
Zhou Sen and Yu Mingtao both knew Shen Zhifei; they had studied together in junior high school, but despite being classmates for three years, they hadn't exchanged more than five words.
Jing Muye was an easygoing person. When he finally met the academic genius that Meng Fanxing often mentioned, he was filled with excitement, admiration and respect. He warmly extended his hand, but Shen Zhifei dismissed him with a distant and indifferent nod.
He didn't mind; academic geniuses always have a few quirks.
But we're all guys, and guys, if you want to quickly build up a relationship, you should play ball, play video games, and masturbate together.
So when he proudly pulled out the CD from his schoolbag, which was tucked into page 69 of his math workbook, he felt no guilt whatsoever.
"Ta-da! — A brand new work by Yui Hatano, the goddess of otaku, suitable for all tastes. Shall we give it a try?"
"Holy crap! You're my brother! Xingzi, turn on the computer right away, Da Tao, go find some toilet paper, Da Lang, go check the door lock, and I'll take care of drawing the curtains!" Zhou Sen arranged the troops with great skill, clearly indicating that these people had carried out similar operations together several times before.
This time, however, the atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Meng Fanxing looked at Song Lang, worried that his brother's past performance of Calabash Brothers with some unknown person (male) might be brought up again.
Song Lang glanced at Shen Zhifei out of the corner of his eye, feeling slightly embarrassed, but also worried that his brother might develop psychological trauma or feel inferior due to his sexual orientation after watching the film.
As for Shen Zhifei, his gaze was open and his expression calm, and he chose to sit in the back row.
Sensing Song Lang glancing at him, he smiled, patted the mattress beside him, and whispered, "Come here."
Chapter 029
"How about... we just forget about it?"
Meng Fanxing wanted to ease the heavy embarrassment in his heart; he had to cover for his good brother.
Zhou Sen laughed and put his arm around his shoulder, saying, "Teacher Jing specially found this movie for us, how can we just let it go? Didn't you secretly masturbate yesterday? You're out of ammo now, aren't you?"
"Get out, get out," Meng Fanxing said irritably, pushing his arm away. "I'm not, I'm not—"
His eyes kept drifting towards Song Lang, his mind searching for a suitable reason. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Shen Zhifei and said, "I'm just still thinking about little Fei. He's still young, don't lead the child astray."
"Come on," Yu Mingtao gathered up tissues, toilet paper, and wet wipes and distributed them to his brothers who were about to go into battle. "Our little brother Shen is a genius; he definitely knows more than anyone else."
Taking the opportunity, Song Lang lowered his voice and said to Shen Zhifei, "Why don't we go? Your—"
“Sit down,” Shen Zhifei interrupted him, pulling his wrist to make him sit next to her. “It’s alright.”
"Hehe, Xingzi, what excuse do you have now?"
Zhou Sen punched Meng Fanxing on the shoulder and excitedly tried to run over to sit next to Song Lang, but Meng Fanxing quickly grabbed his collar.
"That's too crowded, why are you getting involved? Go over there." Meng Fanxing pushed him towards the computer chair and gave Song Lang a meaningful look.
Unfortunately, Song Lang was whispering to Shen Zhifei and didn't grasp his deeper meaning.
"Why aren't you leaving? It'll be so awkward later." Song Lang asked anxiously.
"Won't they feel awkward if we leave now?" Shen Zhifei, who was usually indifferent to social niceties, said seriously.
Song Lang was extremely worried: "Why do you care about them? These bastards are all heartless. What if they find out you can't get hard later..."
"Shh," Shen Zhifei leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "sitting here, no one will notice us."
The speaker may be unintentional, but the listener may be intentional.
A casual "we" carried an intimacy unknown to others, like a fluffy ball of cotton, enveloping Song Lang layer by layer. The air hidden in the gaps of the cotton was tinged with the warmth of breath, carrying Shen Zhifei's light scent.
Song Lang recalled that unspeakable afternoon, a secret that belonged only to him and Shen Zhifei, a secret "us".