Chapter 35: Rejected
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Zhou Kai put down his pen and glanced at the clock at the front of the classroom. There were only a few minutes left. He lowered his head to stare at his exam paper for a while, then gave a small, emotionless smile, flipping the paper over and arranging it neatly. He packed up his pencil case, stood up, and walked toward the front of the room.
The invigilator, Zhou Kai’s English teacher, noticed him standing and approached. Glancing at his paper, the teacher quietly asked, “Are you finished?”
Zhou Kai nodded, waiting for the teacher to take the paper.
At his school, seating arrangements for major exams like midterms and finals were based on previous exam rankings. Zhou Kai was seated in the same room as the class president. When he stood up to leave early, the class president watched him but didn’t say anything. Zhou Kai walked to the front to grab his bag and left the exam room without looking back at the class president.
The class president, distracted for a moment, remembered the gossip from some of the girls in the class, talking about how “the academic committee member hadn’t been interacting much lately” and “hadn’t been smiling much either.” But the class president quickly returned to focusing on the exam, brushing it off.
Outside the high school senior building, Zhou Kai descended the long stairs. Instead of heading toward the school’s bicycle parking area across the playground, he walked to the second-year building and leaned against the trunk of a large tree in front.
The students assigned to the second-year exam rooms were typically those ranked lower in their grade. There were more students finishing early than in Zhou Kai’s exam room.
Some classmates saw him and asked, “You finished early too? Why are you here? The exam’s over, aren’t you going home?”
Zhou Kai stuffed his hands into the pockets of his down jacket, not making eye contact, his gaze fixed on the exit of the stairs. “Waiting for someone,” he replied flatly.
When someone asked who he was waiting for, he fell silent, not responding.
Minutes passed quickly, and the bell rang. The once-quiet campus immediately became noisy.
When the first group of students came down, Zhou Kai stood up straight. He scanned the crowd but didn’t see He Ye.
The second group came down, but still no He Ye.
Then the third group, followed by more students, but still no sign of He Ye.
Eventually, even the invigilators emerged and returned to the senior building.
Zhou Kai stood there for a while in the cold wind. His hands were frozen, and his legs were starting to feel numb. He looked up at the four-story building, exhaling a cloud of mist, which fogged up his vision.
He lowered his head, hiding his trembling lips and reddened nose inside his scarf. Zhou Kai turned and walked away, no longer waiting.
He Ye had probably left earlier—maybe half an hour before, or even more. It made sense. He Ye would rather leave than waste time in the exam room if he couldn’t answer the questions.
Zhou Kai didn’t want to think about what He Ye might be doing. His whole body was trembling, and he needed to drink something hot to warm up.
It was only five o’clock, but the sun had already set, and the sky was dark. The wind howled, making the campus feel even colder.
As the teacher was checking each classroom in the building, preparing to close the doors, she reached the top floor and suddenly saw something dark and unfamiliar sitting on the stairs. It startled her for a moment. When she focused, she realized it was a person, sitting with their knees drawn up and head buried.
Relieved, the teacher shook the bunch of keys in her hand, making a clinking sound, and called out loudly, “Which class are you from? Why are you still sitting here quietly after the exam? What are you doing?”
The sound of the metal keys clashing against each other pierced through the silence, causing He Ye to move his legs, which were painfully stiff. He lifted his head and looked at the teacher, his face pale and lifeless in the dim light, making him look almost like a ghost.
The teacher was startled and stood frozen for a moment before she finally asked, “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
He Ye slowly pushed himself up, propping his hand on the ground. He held onto the wall and began walking down the stairs, each step slow and deliberate. As He Ye passed the teacher, she took a step back, clearly a little afraid of him. He Ye paid her no mind and continued down the stairs, step by step.
When he reached the first floor, He Ye took his hand off the wall, his gaze lifting to the large tree that Zhou Kai had leaned against earlier. After hearing the footsteps from upstairs fade away, He Ye slowly averted his gaze and painfully shuffled away.
Meanwhile, Zhou Kai’s parents were discussing something in the living room.
Zhou Kai’s mom said, “There’s a job at work organizing old files. It’s three days a week, sixty yuan a day. I was thinking of asking Xiao Kai to do it.”
Zhou Kai’s dad immediately objected, “He’s in his senior year, his studies are the priority. You want him to work now? What are you thinking?”
Zhou Kai’s mom paused, her hand halting as she lifted the blanket. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her husband, her expression sad. “Da Zhou, haven’t you noticed?”
Zhou Kai’s dad, not particularly perceptive, noticed her unusual mood and quickly became concerned. “Noticed what? Hey, don’t cry, let’s talk it over, don’t cry.”
Wiping her eyes, Zhou Kai’s mom shook her head and remained silent, just gazing at her husband. “Let Xiao Kai go. Stop pressuring him with studies. Health is more important than academics. Let him go out, see the world, have a bit of fun.”
Zhou Kai’s dad was silent for a long time before he sighed and gently held his wife, patting her back. “Alright, he’s our child. We’re both doing this for his sake… I’ll listen to you.”
At the office, when Zhou Kai sat in front of the computer and started working, a faint smile finally appeared on his face. He understood that it was his mom who had convinced his dad, and he also knew the intentions behind his mom’s decision to let him work.
As Zhou Kai paused to drink some water and looked up, he caught his mom’s gaze from across the room. Her caring smile almost made him want to confess everything to her. But in the end, he lacked the courage and couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Zhou Kai didn’t expect the class president and a few others to come looking for him, inviting him to hang out. After the midterms, he had distanced himself from the group, rarely joining them for basketball or anything else. He usually declined with a single sentence.
The class president and the sports committee even came to his house. While Zhou Kai appreciated it, he didn’t feel the urge to go out with them.
Zhou Kai’s dad, however, was sitting in the living room, looking at his son and then at his son’s classmates. To Zhou Kai’s surprise, his dad suddenly changed his usual stance and said, “Go ahead, don’t stay at home all the time.”
Zhou Kai stared at his dad in shock, as did the class president and the others.
Once they stepped outside, the class president asked Zhou Kai, “Your dad actually let you go out today? That’s so unusual!”
Zhou Kai gave a faint smile, thinking that perhaps his mom had said something to his dad, or maybe his dad had noticed something himself.
It was the same barbecue place they often went to. After sitting down and ordering food, Zhou Kai finally understood why the class president and the others had come to find him.
“Zhou Kai, tell us the truth. Did you get rejected by the girl you like?” the class president asked.
The sports committee member followed up, “Seriously, who is she? She’s amazing, isn’t she? Look at what she’s done to you. You’re not even yourself anymore.”
The others also chimed in with their guesses, offering their views on love and relationships.
Zhou Kai was stunned for a long moment before realizing that the group had specifically come to try to comfort him. He forced a smile and waved his hand, saying, “You guys are overthinking it. I… I just suddenly realized it’s already senior year, and the college entrance exam is coming up… The pressure’s getting to me.”
As soon as the mention of the college entrance exam and graduation was made, everyone’s mood shifted. They each had their own worries and anxieties.
Zhou Kai’s thoughts were his alone. No one knew what he was really feeling, and he wouldn’t share it with anyone. He just sipped his drink and slowly nibbled on the skewers, listening as the others spoke.
The students with good grades had their troubles, the ones with average grades had their own concerns, and the ones struggling with academics also had their worries—everyone was uncertain about the future.
By the time the conversation came to an end, everyone was feeling a bit down. No one said much more, and everyone picked up their phones, distracted.
Zhou Kai, however, didn’t play with his phone. He sat there, staring out at the pedestrians and cars, lost in thought.
Suddenly, someone muttered “what the heck” and everyone looked up.
It was the guy who had previously gossiped about He Ye. He was holding up his phone, showing it to everyone, and muttering, “Look at this. Is this a sign they’re back together?”
“What’s going on?”
“What’s that?”
“Let me see.”
Zhou Kai didn’t even need to look to know what the photo was. Just seeing the image on the screen, he could tell. The photo was of He Ye and Bei Bei, both wearing the aprons from the roast chicken shop where He Ye worked. The angle of the photo seemed like it had been taken discreetly, capturing the two of them talking intimately, close enough to share a secret.
Zhou Kai placed his cup on the table, pulled out his phone, and shakily opened WeChat. He sent a red envelope to the class president, stood up, and said, “This meal is on me. Thanks for coming out to find me. I’ll head back now.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, leaving the group of friends behind, still looking puzzled, unsure of whether Zhou Kai was simply putting on a brave face or if he was genuinely heartbroken, which was why he was acting so differently.
Meanwhile, at the roast chicken shop, the boss was tidying up the counter and said to Bei Bei, “No customers for now, you can sit and rest.”
Bei Bei, smiling, glanced at He Ye, who was wiping down the tables, then looked at the boss and cheerfully said, “No problem, uncle, I’ll practice my skills a little more.”
The boss glanced at Bei Bei and jokingly said, “Alright, do as you please. But when you go home tonight, don’t tell your parents that I’m mistreating you.”
Bei Bei waved his hand dismissively. “Of course not.” His eyes, however, kept wandering over to He Ye.
Bei Bei, the boss’s friend’s child, hadn’t known that He Ye worked here until he arrived. He was pleasantly surprised to see him. But as always, He Ye was cold and indifferent, not paying him any attention. Bei Bei didn’t mind though. He had overheard his uncle and two of the chefs talking about He Ye’s heartbreak, and was surprised. But when he heard that they were talking about a girl, Bei Bei assumed they must have gotten it wrong and quietly sighed in relief.
After swapping out a full garbage bag, He Ye grabbed it and headed for the door to throw it away. Bei Bei, seeing this as an opportunity, followed him, hoping to strike up a conversation.
As soon as they were outside, Bei Bei happily called, “Senior!”
He saw He Ye stop, and his heart lifted with hope. But when Bei Bei reached He Ye’s side, he realized that He Ye wasn’t stopping for him at all. He was staring ahead, wide-eyed, looking frozen in place.
Bei Bei lifted his head to follow He Ye’s gaze and spotted someone across the street. Squinting, he made out the figure—it was Zhou Kai. What was he doing there?
Bei Bei looked back and forth between Zhou Kai and He Ye, confirming that the two were staring at each other.
He rubbed his eyes, trying to get a better look. But when he glanced back at Zhou Kai, he was already turning away and walking off.
Feeling He Ye’s body shift beside him, as if he was about to step forward but then stopped, Bei Bei bit his lip, scratched his face, and lowered his gaze. He thought to himself, “He must have seen something important.”
