Chapter Eighteen: Don't Let Me See You Again

The next day, Song He insisted on having Aunt Yu Sheng’s cooking one last time before leaving.
“Auntie, I’m going to miss you and your food so much,” he wailed.

Over the past few days, Song He had charmed Wei Yabai, and she was reluctant to see him go.
“If you miss everyone, just come back often to see us. It’s a pity you didn’t get to meet Yu Sheng and Yu Chen’s father while you were here,” she said regretfully.

Song He took a bite of his food. “I heard Yu Sheng’s father is a policeman?”
“Yes, he’s rarely at home.”
“That’s a tough job. Uncle must be amazing,” Song He remarked.

Wei Yabai smiled and said nothing more.

After dinner, Gu Yan drove Song He to the airport. Yu Sheng and Yu Chen wanted to go too, but Song He refused.
“Do you want me to embarrass myself by crying my eyes out at the airport?” he said.

Sitting in the car, Song He saw Yu Sheng’s family waving goodbye from behind, and he couldn’t help but feel his eyes sting with tears.
“Gu Yan, if only I’d met you all earlier,” he said.
“It’s not too late now,” Gu Yan replied.
“Gu Yan, do you think you’ll forget me after a few years?”
“Of course not. We’re not goldfish,” Gu Yan teased.
“Gu Yan, do you think…” Song He started to ramble.
“You’re not gone forever!”

Song He felt wronged—he just couldn’t bear to leave them.

At the airport, Song He hugged Gu Yan tightly.
“If I ever see you abroad, I’m going to hit you every single time!”
Gu Yan was helpless—this kid!
“Hurry up, message me on WeChat,” he said.

Song He nodded reluctantly and walked out of Gu Yan’s sight.

Once Song He had left, Gu Yan glanced sidelong at the man who had been furtively following him and turned to walk in the opposite direction.

The man pursued him relentlessly. Gu Yan entered the restroom, and as soon as he stepped inside, he hid behind the door. Just as he expected, the man followed him in. When the man entered, Gu Yan quietly slipped out from behind him.

Outside, he saw a message from Song He:
Song He: Boarded.
Gu Yan: Okay.

After replying, Gu Yan quickly hailed a cab and left the airport before the man could react.

As he sat in the car, Gu Yan couldn’t stop thinking.
Song He said the man had been following them since yesterday. Did that mean he’d been tailing them even earlier, and they hadn’t noticed?
Who was he? Or rather, who sent him? Could it be as they suspected, that they’d attracted the attention of a drug cartel?
If it really was a cartel, then they were in danger. Even if he wasn’t worried about himself, the man had seen him and Yu Sheng together last time—so Yu Sheng could be in danger too.
This matter needed careful attention!

The next morning during early reading, the “rich lady” called the class monitor outside. When he returned, he was holding a sheet of paper.

Yu Sheng’s class monitor was Yang Xiaolong, a diligent and responsible guy who sat just in front of Yu Sheng and her friends.

“Yang Xiaolong, what did the rich lady want with you?” Lin Ning couldn’t help but ask.
Yang Xiaolong hid his face behind a book and turned to reply, “Our school is organizing a basketball tournament.”

Hearing this, Lin Ning became excited—wouldn’t that mean plenty of handsome underclassmen and seniors would be there? Just imagining it made her giddy!

Yu Sheng, however, had no interest in the basketball game.

Lin Ning nudged Yu Sheng. “Hey, it’s a basketball tournament. There’ll definitely be loads of cute guys. Are you going to watch?”
“Not really. Don’t you know our school? There aren’t many attractive guys.”
“Don’t say that! What if we missed some?” Lin Ning protested.

Seeing that Yu Sheng wasn’t swayed, Lin Ning turned her attention to Gu Yan, hoping to persuade him to join the game. But she saw him sleeping, leaning against the back desk with a book propped up.

Lin Ning sighed and glanced at Chen Ke’an beside her, who was secretly doing math problems behind his language textbook.

When Lin Ning turned around, Chen Ke’an looked up. “What’s up?”
Lin Ning smiled and shook her head.

So this is the difference between me and a top student? Is this some kind of learning method?

Sure enough, after the first period, Yang Xiaolong announced the news from the podium.
“Our school is holding a basketball tournament. If you want to join, come sign up with me.”

He raised the sign-up sheet, looking expectantly at the students below, but nobody responded. Everyone was slumped over their desks, asleep.

Yang Xiaolong sighed and returned to his seat, disappointed.

Gu Yan was usually uninterested in such activities, so after class he stuffed some tissue in his ears and kept sleeping.

But Lin Ning shook him awake.
Gu Yan grumbled, “What is it?”
“Aren’t you signing up for the basketball game?”
“No!” he replied and laid back down.

“Alright, Yu Sheng and I were planning to watch the game, but if you’re not playing, our class won’t be worth watching.”

Hearing this, Gu Yan opened his eyes, said nothing, and walked over to Yang Xiaolong.
“Count me in.”

Lin Ning smiled triumphantly when she saw him sign up.

Yu Sheng had just gone to the teacher’s office, so she missed the scene. When she returned and sat down, Lin Ning leaned over.
“Guess who signed up from our class?”
Yu Sheng glanced at the group sleeping on their desks and laughed. “I guess no one.”
“Wrong—Gu Yan did!”

Yu Sheng never expected Gu Yan to sign up. Thinking back, she realized she’d never seen him play basketball. When he first transferred, he spent PE class wandering the track with a sullen face. But as they got familiar, she found he was actually quite nice—just like any other guy, joking and messing around with friends.

But during the monthly exams, PE class was replaced, so Yu Sheng still had no idea how athletic Gu Yan really was.

Yu Sheng looked at Gu Yan behind her. He was sleeping, sunlight streaming onto him, making him shine, even his eyelashes dusted with gold. She was momentarily entranced.

Chen Ke’an glanced at Yu Sheng, saw her watching Gu Yan, wanted to say something, hesitated, then lowered his head to write.

In the afternoon, Yang Xiaolong was recruiting more players from the podium.
“Be enthusiastic, everyone. This is a rare chance to relax and have fun.”

Wu Jielin, the sports committee member, joined in.
“Yeah, you’re representing the class. We still need three more people. Come on, it’s a rare opportunity!”

With all this encouragement, the students felt too embarrassed not to respond.
“Count me in, I’ll sign up.” Liu Lun said.
“Me too,” chimed in Song Jing’an, who usually ranked at the bottom of the class.

His announcement stirred the class. They’d been classmates for over a year, but barely heard him speak ten times, let alone participate in group activities.

Inspired by Song Jing’an’s sign-up, Yang Xiaolong was more hopeful than ever.
“One more, hurry up, I need to submit the list to the teacher!”

“I’ll sign up too,” came a voice from behind Yu Sheng. She and Lin Ning turned to see Chen Ke’an.

“Alright, we’re full. I’ll submit the list to the teacher. The game is next week. Let’s practice together whenever we have time.”

Seeing Chen Ke’an sign up, Lin Ning was as shocked as she’d been with Song Jing’an.
“Are you crazy? Can you even play? Last time you played beach volleyball, you were exhausted!”
“Volleyball is volleyball. Basketball, I’m pretty good at,” Chen Ke’an said, adjusting his glasses.

“Alright, Yu Sheng and I might come watch. Good luck!”
Chen Ke’an nodded and went back to his homework.

Gu Yan, however, felt unsettled when Lin Ning mentioned Yu Sheng might come to the game.
If Yu Sheng didn’t attend, what was the point of him playing?

Before evening self-study, the school gave students time for dinner, either in the cafeteria or outside. If Wei Yabai had time, she’d bring dinner for Yu Sheng and Gu Yan, but usually she didn’t, so they mostly ate in the cafeteria.

Gu Yan had hoped to invite Yu Sheng to watch him play on the way to dinner, but Lin Ning and Chen Ke’an were always around, leaving him no chance.

During dinner, Lin Ning was still curious about Song Jing’an.
“Why do you think Song Jing’an suddenly decided to join a group activity?”
“No idea,” Yu Sheng shook her head.
“What’s his deal?” Gu Yan asked—he was new and didn’t know.
“Gu Yan, you wouldn’t know. When I was a freshman, I thought he was mute. He always sat alone at the back. The teacher tried moving his seat, but he’d just move it back. Now in our second year, I still haven’t said a word to him.”
“And his hair—it’s always covering his eyes, just like ‘Eighth Master’ from the old dramas.”

Lin Ning couldn’t stop talking about him.
“But…” she suddenly lowered her voice.
“But what?” Yu Sheng was intrigued.
“I heard he’s got a background. His family’s apparently pretty wealthy.”
“How do you know?”
“In freshman year, because he wouldn’t speak or study, the teacher invited his parents.”
“When? How come I never heard about it?”

Lin Ning set down her chopsticks and explained.
“That day in PE class, I had my period, so I asked the PE teacher for leave and went back to the classroom. Just as I reached the door, I saw a sharply dressed man talking with the rich lady, Song Jing’an standing beside him. The man had an aura, clearly not ordinary, but my stomach hurt so much I didn’t pay much attention. When I finished taking leave and was heading home, the man was leaving with Song Jing’an.

“I left school with them and saw the man put Song Jing’an in a car with a bird emblem on the hood. I don’t know what it’s called, but it was definitely expensive, and the man even opened the car door for Song Jing’an!

“What does that tell you? He’s not simple!”

Lin Ning finished her story with a sip of water.

Yu Sheng nodded in agreement, while Chen Ke’an listened and ate, offering no opinion.

Gu Yan wasn’t interested in Song Jing’an’s background; he was busy thinking about how to invite Yu Sheng to watch him play basketball. Song He had advised him to be shameless, bold.

He’d even looked up “school bully” and “dominant CEO” novels online, practicing how to say it.
“Woman, come watch me play!”
“I’ll tutor you. In return, you must watch me play!”
“You can’t refuse, or I’ll kiss you!”
No, no, how could he say something so crude!