"Can't we just...separate?" Meng Fanxing asked, then felt it was unnecessary.
Among his peers, Shen Zhifei was almost the most calm and composed.
If they could truly separate, they wouldn't have allowed this absurd and forbidden relationship to entangle them for over half a year.
Song Lang put his hands in his pockets, leaned against the horizontal bar, and turned his head to look over.
"Xingzi, he and I are both very serious. It's not the kind of impulsive, reckless thing you're thinking of."
Meng Fanxing was burned by his serious gaze.
He turned his head away from those two burning gazes, his toes chafing the gravel on the ground, and frowned as he said, "But you two are brothers, not like me. You two are the kind of brothers whose names are on the same household registration book, this is different from..."
After a pause, Meng Fanxing avoided using words that might offend Song Lang.
"What's the difference between this and... you know?"
Song Lang leaned against the horizontal bar without saying a word. The cold winter wind stung his face as he recalled the heartache he endured last year at this time in order to keep his distance from Shen Zhifei.
After receiving no response for a long time, Meng Fanxing sighed.
He and Song Lang had been good friends for many years, so he knew that although Song Lang seemed carefree, once he made up his mind, it was hard for him to change his mind easily.
"I'm an outsider after all, so there's no point in me saying anything. Dalang, I'll just give you one last piece of advice: think about your parents, it's not too late now."
Meng Fanxing stomped her foot and turned to walk towards the teaching building.
"Hey! Xingzi, come play basketball!" Zhou Sen called out to him from the basketball court.
"No way! It's fucking cold." Meng Fanxing shouted back, shook her hand, and walked away without looking back.
Song Lang stared blankly at his departing figure for a long time, but ultimately did not chase after him.
Later, even the slow-witted Zhou Sen noticed something was off between the two best friends. They barely spoke during meals together, and their daily activities, like playing ball together, were almost entirely separate. Not to mention, the two who used to be inseparable now had to go to and from school separately.
"Hey, what's going on with you guys?" Zhou Sen pulled Song Lang onto the rooftop. "Winter break starts tomorrow, and with you and Xingzi acting like this, Lao Yu and I are really in a difficult position."
"Tch," Song Lang rolled his eyes at him, "What's it to you? Why are you making things difficult for me?"
"No, I'm serious. Tell me honestly, what's going on between you and Xingzi? Did you steal him away, or did he steal your goddess? Holy crap!" Zhou Sen was talking to himself, his eyes gleaming with gossip. "You two are in an epic love triangle with Hao Wei?!"
"Get out!"
Song Lang kicked him in frustration, but Zhou Sen dodged it by jumping.
"I'm fine with him, and the young couple is doing great. Stop making wild guesses. Use your brains to do a couple more problems and avoid getting scolded by the teacher."
"Tsk, did you and Xingzi plan this together? The answers are so similar, something must be going on."
Zhou Sen made a firm deduction, but he was very tactful. The two parties involved tacitly chose to avoid talking about it, and he couldn't delve into it either. He only advised, "We're all brothers, so let's talk things out as soon as possible. Don't forget the friendship we had when we studied hard together under Master Bodo."
Song Lang was by him
He laughed in exasperation at his serious demeanor: "Idiot, is there anything else? I'm freezing."
"That's all, let's go. The next exam is math, and I haven't even memorized the formulas yet." Zhou Sen pulled up his collar and dragged Song Lang back to the exam room.
Although they said they didn't care, Zhou Sen and Yu Mingtao still tried to help the two brothers, who had inexplicably fallen out of love, get back to a normal relationship during the winter break. They arranged several street basketball games with a few people from No. 5 Middle School, and Song Lang and Meng Fanxing participated, but the effect was still not obvious.
It's as if they suddenly split into two worlds, never to be able to reunite.
Shen Zhifei could tell that Song Lang was very sad. He had also privately approached Meng Fanxing. That day was the first time he had talked to Meng Fanxing about many things other than studying, but it had little effect.
Meng Fanxing sat there silently, neither accepting nor opposing, but her expression revealed a subtle embarrassment and awkwardness that made Shen Zhifei feel powerless.
He couldn't force someone to wish him and Song Lang well in their relationship.
He felt indebted to Song Lang.
If it weren't for him, Song Lang would still be a carefree, innocent boy, without worries about losing friends or anxieties about the future.
But there was nothing he could do; he wanted Song Lang, and he could only try to share the side effects of the process.
"Aren't you going out today?" Shen Zhifei tidied up her desk and glanced at Song Lang, who was lying on the bed in a daze.
"No, it's New Year's Eve today, why would I go out and wander around aimlessly?"
Sensing Shen Zhifei's worried gaze, Song Lang grinned and swung his toes, saying, "Besides, Mom definitely won't let me run around. She said we have to help her make dumplings this afternoon."
Shen Zhifei chuckled softly but remained silent.
Song Lang rarely went out to play during this winter vacation. Even when he did go out, he would often sit on the sofa for a long time, feeling depressed.
Meng Fanxing's matter became a fishbone stuck in Song Lang's throat.
In the afternoon, amidst the occasional sound of firecrackers outside the window, Shen Lingyu pulled her husband and two sons to sit in front of the television and make dumplings.
Shen Zhifei pretended to go to the restroom and deliberately took Song Lang's phone by mistake, sending a text message to Meng Fanxing.
After the family finished their New Year's Eve dinner and sat on the sofa, chatting and complaining about the Spring Festival Gala on their phones, Song Lang received a message on his phone, which made his eyelids twitch.
That was an anonymous number.
My darling, you'll always be a part of my element number thirty.
Song Lang immediately glanced at Shen Zhifei next to him. Shen Zhifei was watching TV with a serious expression, occasionally exchanging a few words with Song's father about current affairs.
Song Lang turned his body to the side, making sure no one could see his phone screen, before quickly typing a reply: "?? Is that you? What are you doing?"