OHD Chapter 4: Is it you?

Chapter 4: Is it you?

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

A few of the boys who often played basketball and goofed around with Zhou Kai had just made a trip to the school’s supermarket. Zhou Kai walked at the back of the group, holding a bottle of ice-cold cola, and followed them up the steps in front of the teaching building.

“Tsk tsk, look over there.”

The people ahead of him stopped, and Zhou Kai did the same, following the direction of the finger pointing. It was the hallway of their classroom floor. Zhou Kai took a sip of his cola, not understanding what they were looking at.

The class committee member also asked, “What are we looking at?”

Others craned their necks and looked up. “What are we looking at? There’s no pretty girl.”

The person who had pointed looked defeated. “No way, you guys haven’t heard about this yet?”

The class monitor patted him on the back, urging him to stop being mysterious and just say it.

“Tsk, you guys are really…” He raised his hand again to point, laughing weirdly. “It’s that guy standing in front of our classroom hallway, the one wearing the second-year uniform.”

“Hmm, I see him.”

“Why’s he standing there?”

Zhou Kai looked over again. His vision was pretty good, so he could see the second-year student clearly. The guy was fair-skinned, but a bit short.

In their building, aside from the third-year classrooms, there were a few second-year classrooms on the first floor. It wasn’t unusual for second-year students to run up to the upper floors out of curiosity, so it wasn’t particularly odd. But this guy kept turning around and looking into their classroom.

Zhou Kai tossed the water bottle in his hand, curious. What was he looking at? Was he secretly in love with a girl from their class? Or did he have a relative in their class?

It turned out it was neither.

The guy who had pointed raised an eyebrow, gave a sly grin, and made a small motion with his right hand, bending his index finger. He then winked at the second-year student and said, “You guys forgot? He Ye from our class is like that too.” He made the same finger gesture again, adding, “You don’t need me to spell it out, right?”

Well, that was a pretty clear and vivid expression.

Zhou Kai just…

“Damn!”

The reactions of the others were pretty much the same, and Zhou Kai’s exclamation actually matched the scene perfectly.

As they walked and listened to the only person who liked to gossip about the second-year student in the school forums and groups, Zhou Kai squeezed his cola bottle so hard it creaked. His face remained calm, and there was even a smile at the corner of his lips. But inside, he was cursing He Ye over and over. “Damn snake, bad snake, asshole snake…” The same words repeated in his mind.

As they passed by the second-year student, Zhou Kai turned his head to size him up. When their eyes met, Zhou Kai even raised an eyebrow before moving on and looking away.

He suddenly felt a heaviness in his chest. Because up close, this second-year student was really damn good-looking. His dark eyes were round and innocent, like a clueless little animal. He was short and slender, with fair, smooth skin… Overall, he just had that irresistible, protective charm.

And Zhou Kai wasn’t happy about it.

This kind of person was into He Ye, this damn snake, and not only that, he was being blatantly obvious about it. He was standing at the entrance of the classroom, waiting! What about He Ye? Was He Ye really involved with this guy like they said? Had they already gotten together?!

“…Damn…”

As He Ye looked over at the senior, Bei Bei noticed him staring at him with somewhat unfriendly eyes. He glanced back a few times, and when he clearly saw his face, he suddenly remembered. He’d seen this senior’s photo before, on the forums. There was an anonymous confession post he’d scrolled through. The senior’s photo appeared at least seven or eight times in that post.

Bei Bei then recalled the comments from the girls who had confessed, and he was a bit confused.

Why was Zhou Kai, who was tagged with the labels “gentle, easygoing, considerate, no temper, the prince charming of dreams,” giving him such a look with some kind of rivalry or hostility?

He Ye stood up from his desk, stretched both arms lazily, and leaned his body against the wall. He glanced out the window and spotted the familiar figure that had been lurking around him these past few days. He narrowed his eyes and watched the figure until it disappeared from view behind a wall. Only then did He Ye withdraw his cold, contemplative gaze.

When he turned around, He Ye noticed someone was looking at him. He looked up and saw that it was Zhou Kai, their class monitor. Zhou Kai’s gaze was fixed on him, and it seemed like he had been staring for quite a while.

Just as He Ye was about to give him a cold, “What the hell are you looking at?” glare, Zhou Kai had already turned away and returned to his seat. He Ye’s expression stiffened for a moment before returning to his usual indifference. He slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth, then flattened it again.

It was the second time. He had been looked at by Zhou Kai’s beautiful eyes for the second time.

At 5:30 PM, when the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, He Ye tossed his books into his backpack and zipped it up. He stood up, slung the bag over one shoulder, and walked out the door.

Taking advantage of the fact that there weren’t many people coming down yet, He Ye skipped two steps at a time on the stairs. This was his usual routine—he was racing against time. He had to get to the store before 6:00 PM to start working. He couldn’t be late. It was the exchange for his daily paycheck. He had to make sure no one could complain or grumble.

When he reached the first floor, He Ye grabbed the handrail and suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“…Damn!” The funding application form—he had forgotten to return it. It was still stuck in his book. It was because the homeroom teacher hadn’t shown up this morning, and the Chinese class had suddenly turned into a surprise exam for two periods in the afternoon. He hadn’t had the chance to open the book.

He Ye didn’t have time to hesitate. He turned around and ran back upstairs, dodging the students constantly coming out of the classrooms in the corridor. He ran straight to the office, stood at the door, slightly out of breath, and raised his hand to knock.

The homeroom teacher was startled and told him to come in. Before she could even ask him anything, He Ye placed the application form, which he had pulled out of his backpack while running, on the desk, and quickly ran out of the office.

It was still too late—the crowd upstairs had already come down. The stairs were suddenly packed, and everyone was moving down at a snail’s pace.

He Ye stood at the door of his classroom, frowning tightly as he watched the stairs. He turned around and walked into the classroom, raising his head to check the clock hanging at the back. He irritably wiped his chin with the back of his hand.

Just then, Zhou Kai, who was in charge of cleaning duty, had noticed. He had seen He Ye run down the corridor, suddenly appear, and then run back again. Then He Ye entered the classroom and stood at the front, staring intently at the clock.

The two girls who were chatting at the podium, cleaning the blackboard, and tidying up the desk were startled and immediately dropped their cleaning supplies. They held hands and hurried to the back of the room, clearly trying to avoid He Ye.

Zhou Kai watched them, gripping the handle of the broom tightly. He wasn’t feeling great about it. Despite cursing He Ye earlier, calling him a “bastard snake” after hearing the gossip about the second-year student liking him, Zhou Kai couldn’t stand seeing his classmates react this way.

He stared at He Ye, pursed his lips, wanting to approach him, wanting to ask why He Ye had left only to come back again. He wanted to ask if he was upset because he was going to be late for work. But all these little thoughts swirled in his head, and the confusion made Zhou Kai’s face flush. His feet still didn’t move forward.

Then… He Ye, wrapped up in his own thoughts, lifted his foot and walked away.

Zhou Kai watched He Ye disappear through the front door, grinding his teeth. He cursed himself for being such a coward—no wonder someone else could be liked, but not him. Frustrated, he swept the floor with the broom.

After some difficulty, He Ye finally got his bicycle out of the crowded bike rack. He hadn’t gone out the front door; he had always used the back gate. The back gate was usually just ajar during the day and locked at night. The alley behind it led to the main street, which wasn’t far from the burger and milk tea shop He Ye worked at. It was closer than the front gate, saving him a detour.

He Ye didn’t expect that when he left through the back gate today, he wasn’t alone.

That person—the one who had been hanging around their class corridor earlier, the one who had been secretly following him around campus for the past couple of days.

A man, very fair…

“Creak—!”

Just as Bei Bei was about to greet the person, he saw the bicycle suddenly stop right beside him. The person sitting on the bike was the one he had been secretly liking since last year. His face flushed, heart racing, Bei Bei smiled at the person, his two deep dimples showing. “Hello, Senior. I’m…”

He Ye stared at him, cutting him off with a cold tone, only asking, “Is it you?”

Bei Bei froze, stunned by the interruption. He looked at him blankly, “What?”

There wasn’t enough time. He Ye’s patience was running thin. He stared at Bei Bei for a moment, then let go of the right hand gripping the handlebars of the bike. Without warning, he grabbed Bei Bei’s shirt and pulled him closer, roughly tugging at his loose collar, exposing his right chest.

So pale, so smooth, and nothing on it.

It wasn’t him.

Bei Bei was completely stunned by He Ye’s actions, but he didn’t dare to move. When He Ye let go of his shirt, Bei Bei stepped back a little, reaching up to pull his collar back up. His face flushed, nervously saying, “Senior, you…”

Once He Ye realized the person in front of him wasn’t who he was looking for, he didn’t waste any more time.

“Don’t follow me again.” With those words, He Ye pushed off the ground, and the bike slid forward. He pedaled faster and faster, soon disappearing at the end of the alley.

Bei Bei stood there, staring at the empty space, his hand slowly releasing the grip on his collar. He thought about He Ye’s words and walked ahead with a downcast expression. Then he wondered—what did He Ye mean by “Is it you?”